JamesSample

This passage asks us two questions. Where is our focus, and where is our trust?

There are many times in life when the fear of an uncertain future can bring present ineffectiveness. Many people think the answer to this fear is to spend all their time and resources preparing for the best possible outcome in the future. There is nothing wrong with working hard and being faithful with what we’ve been given. In fact, God asks us to live this way and blesses us when we do. But it becomes unhealthy when all of our time is spent focusing on the future, causing us to loose focus of the present. James points out that the span of our life is not long. He compares it to a morning fog (vs. 14). It’s easy to think that the focus of this passage is about the length of our future. But what if that’s not the point? The truth is that no matter how long our life is here on Earth, it will always be inconsequential when compared to the other side of eternity. What if instead of questioning the quality and quantity of the future, James is actually asking us: who are we trusting with our future? We can trust ourselves, and try to plan out every detail and hope everything works out. But James refers to our plans as being pretentious, or appearing better than they actually are. The best thing we can do is put our trust in God, and ask him what he wants us to do. His plans are always best.

Prayer points:

• Pray that God would give you full focus on TODAY not tomorrow.
• Pray and declare that you trust God with your future.