James wrote, ¹³  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”— ¹⁴  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. ¹⁵  Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:13-15).

Is there anything wrong with planning for the future?  Of course not.  It would be foolish for us not to do so.  It is also foolish to leave God out of our plans and not consider His will.  James asked a question in this passage that we should all consider—“what is your life?”  He asked this question with the brevity of life in view, and we, too, should consider this. Peter reminds us of the temporary nature of life as well.

1 Peter 1:24 (ESV)
24  for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls,

This is not a new teaching.  Peter was quoting Isaiah 40:6-8.  The truth is life has always been short.  Our lives are but a drop in the bucket of eternity.  Because of this, there are two things we should do.  First, as James suggested, we should always consider the will of God in our plans.  While the Bible does not teach that God has every moment of our lives already predetermined, His providential work is real.  God has always intervened in the lives of His people, and there is no reason for us to conclude that He does not still do so.  If our plans are not according to His will, He may intervene and send us in a different direction.

We should also consider the written will of God in our plans.  We cannot possibly know what the will of God is in every decision that we make or action that we take.  Why not?  It is because He has not directly revealed it to us.  This is why James teaches us to say “if” when it comes to the will of God.  Something we can know, however, is God’s revealed will—that which is written in the Bible.  We should never make plans that run contrary to the Word of God.  To do so is to go against God’s will.  For example, to plan a vacation that will necessitate you missing worship service on the Lord’s Day would be contrary to God’s will.  Such plans should always be avoided.

Getting back to the question James asked about the brevity of life, there is a second thing we should do.  Knowing that life is like a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes, we should remain ready and right with God.  Not only is life short, but it is also unpredictable.  It can end at any time and can do so without warning.  The end of our present lives can come upon us in two ways—death can overtake us, or Jesus may return.  Both can happen instantly and without notice.  This is why the Bible teaches us to watch and be ready.

Matthew 24:42-44 (ESV)
⁴²  Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³  But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴  Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

What is your life?  From the standpoint of duration, it is short.  When making plans, think about this, especially as it relates to the will of the Lord.  While not everything we do is a part of God’s direct will, everything that ever happens only does so by His permissive will.  And, whatever you do, be mindful of the fact that this life can end at any time, and stay ready to meet God.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.