“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes. Instead, you should say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’” – James 4:13-15

During my life I have been witness to a handful of medical emergencies. I have been there during seizures, watched people receive CPR, stood by as EMTs rush in, and have seen the result when none of the life-saving efforts were enough. I have even had my own personal medical emergency that nearly took my life. Each of those instances has left a deep and lasting impression on my heart. Recently I spent some time talking with a retired firefighter, listening to him share with me the toll that attending to medical emergencies has taken on him over the years. There are many reasons that these situations are incredibly taxing on our spirit, but one of those reasons is the sudden and shocking reminder of our powerlessness to carry out our own will.

In chapter 4 of his letter, James reminds us of this. The vast majority of us wake up every day with one concern: how am I going to carry out my will for today? But in the blink of an eye, every one of those plans can be wiped away. This may seem like a scary thought, and in some ways it is, but this thought should lead us to seek out the will of the One who does have control over every moment of every day. And not only does he have control, but he loves you dearly and desires only the best for your life. So, I want to encourage you, wake up each day with the prayer, “Lord, not my will, but yours be done.” This simple mindset can relieve a great deal of anxiety about what the day may hold.

Heavenly Father, we know that You love us so much that You sent Your Son to die for us. And we know that the One who sent His Son for us would not, at this point in our lives, abandon us. Teach us to say every morning, “This is my plan for the day, but only if the Lord wills.” Teach us to always put Your will first.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Shane Cannon