The James Experiement: Day 4- James 4

Major Themes: Submitting to God; Not boasting in the future

Action: Nothing. See where God takes the day.

“Would I believe you when you would say,
Your hand will guide my every way?...
And I will walk by faith,
Even when I cannot see.
For because this broken road
Prepares your will for me.”
-Walk By Faith, Jeremy Camp

Lessons learned: In trying to develop the action for day 4, a very wise friend asked, “If YOU plan it, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of submitting to God?” So true. Therefore, I woke up without a plan, and spent the morning praying about James 4 then Luke 22:42 “Not my will but Thy will be done” and asking God to show me what that should look like for the day.

Okay, so probably not ideal for EVERY day, but for ONE day = spectacular. Basically, I spent the entire day in the Word, loving and serving other people, easily changing my non-existent-plans to fit someone else’s, and continually praying. I didn’t check off a single item on my extensive to-do list, try to figure out the fall in NC, research residency programs for next year, freak-out about my 25th birthday 10 months away, or even plan the weekend. Although atypical for me, it really happened. And it was phenomenal. God used this to show me how much of the present I waste living in the future, when often He has something better in store. “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” –Proverbs 19:21

In regard to not boasting about tomorrow (James 4:13-17), the concept of TODAY can be difficult. I am a planner, especially a future planner. Confident in MY abilities (really?), I like to orchestrate the way I want things to turn out. James says otherwise. “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.” –James 4:14.

The clarity of this section made me curious as to why it is so. I love to plan the future, what’s wrong with that? Our entire lives we’ve been told to prepare for later. Elementary gymnastics makes a better cheerleader, high school choices dictate college opportunities, on-and-on. So, why this lesson, James? Perhaps God is simply trying to protect us by keeping us from overplanning. How? I think sometimes we can be so focused on “our plan” that we completely miss the phenomenal opportunities that God is giving us in something else. It’s the "can’t see the forest for the trees" syndrome. On top of that, when we get too wrapped up in our plan, we have to face the harsh reality of unmet expectations when it doesn't work out. Unfortunately, a planner has to swallow this frequently, and thankfully God has reined me back over past year or so.

Example: Here’s how the wrong way often looks, in say a job situation. You find this job that has potential of being fantastic, so naturally you get really excited. You fill out the application, rock the interview, and are super pumped about the 3rd callback with the office tour. You begin picturing yourself in this job, who your work friends will be, what you will wear the first week, etc. It seems promising, so you zealously tell your friends and family who become completely stoked too. Next, you go spend your first paycheck (which you haven’t actually earned) on snazzy business clothes. As you are walking on sunshine in flashy new heels, your future boss politely tells you they have hired someone else. WHAT? You. are. crushed. In reality, your non-boss did nothing wrong. The pain was self-inflicted because you let this future-fantasy run away in your head, rather than adhering to Solomon's advice to "...guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life." -Proverbs 4:23. You invested prematurely, and in this instance your plan didn’t jive with God’s plan. Still, you are left with the stinging pain of disappointment from unmet expectations. I've mostly done this the hard way, and am FINALLY learning the right way. One (of many) vital lesson from James 4: God is actually trying to prevent us from hurting ourselves. The quicker we learn this, the less heartache we encounter.

Real world application in MY head, so take it with some salt. I honestly think it is very wise to have a general idea, an overall direction, some concrete goals, and a vision in life, in addition to seeking Christ. But when we legitimately, presumptuously overplan, and think "THIS is EXACTLY what I want," it is a self set-up for a catastrophe. Thankfully, even though we regularly wound ourselves, Jeremiah 29:11 is reassuring. "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."