James 4:13–17 13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. 17 Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.

There is nothing wrong with making plans. We all do it every day. We also know that our plans can change in an instant, and we have to adapt. What James tells us in this passage is that when we make our plans, we should always do so with the mindset, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

When my dad talked about his plans, more often than not he would say “Lord willing and the creek don’t rise!” I think that is a good attitude to have, no matter how you state it. I try to keep that mindset when I make plans.

Another gem from this passage is verse 17:  Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.

Just knowing what is right is not enough. You have to do it. That is all part of the life of response to what Jesus did in accomplishing our forgiveness and everlasting life. We should be constantly showing our thanks by living the life He would have us live. That should be a big part of the plans we make as well.

If you don’t do what you know you should do, James tells us that is sin. We all have plenty of that. That is why Jesus came. And His death in your place paid for your failures to do what you know you should do.

Let’s keep that in mind as we make plans and live our lives today.