My Walk With Him: Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

Thursday, January 18, 2024

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. James 4:13-16

This morning, I pause my study of 1 Corinthians to use DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, which today looks at pride and arrogance, including how pride and arrogance manifests itself in the world and believers can battle such evil. John Piper refers us to C.S. Lewis from Mere Christianity and how Lewis warns us against looking down on others because we won't be able to see "above" us where God reigns supreme in our all details of the universe and all of its inhabitants. Similarly, Piper warns us from flippantly talking our plans with a view that God plays no role in such plans. Piper concludes the devotion by sharing that "James says that not believing in the sovereign rights of God to manage the details of your future is arrogance. The way to battle this arrogance is to yield to the sovereignty of God in all the details of life, and rest in his infallible promises to show himself mighty on our behalf (2 Chronicles 16:9), to pursue us with goodness and mercy every day (Psalm 23:6), to work for those who wait for him (Isaiah 64:4), and to equip us with all we need to live for his glory (Hebrews 13:21). In other words, the remedy for pride is unwavering faith in God’s sovereign future grace."

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God that holds all the details of my life and the lives of my loved ones in Your hands - and You are so full of grace that You provide, Your mercies are new, and You never leave or forsake me. You of course save! Thank You Jesus! I am not deserving of any of these blessings. My sin is great and it continues...daily. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior. Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.