What Should I Do?

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 in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. ¹⁷ If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.  (James 4)

I have missed most of our current message series at church on the book of James. Between being in Louisville training for wedding coordination and then being outside during church for registration/service coordinating, I haven't been in service in awhile. But I've been reading James each week to keep up. Sometimes at the breakfast table, I read out of my Bible to Emersen.
Em: "Mommy Bible."
Me: "Yes, this is mommy's Bible. Do you want me to read it?"
Em: "Dah" (yeah) or her newest answer to questions, "Yes." (Very deliberately spoken.)

Well I can't say no to that. So as I wanted to keep up with James, that's what we read. And yesterday, feeling a little aimless lately and wondering about timing for purchases, for career moves, for family planning, I sat down wanting to seek out some guidance in God's word. I remembered I hadn't read the lastest chapter in James and opened to it. Lo and behold came this passage of scripture. For context, the previous verses (check it out here) are about humility and submitting to God. I mean, that could be another blog post of course. Needless to say, as a Christian, that is something I do. I submit to God. I live for His purposes and pleasure, not my own. At least, I try.

Moving on to the final verses of chapter 4 of James. How freeing, right? I can make plans, the "best laid plans," but God's will is our end goal. I don't know what will happen tomorrow. Scary? Yes. Freeing? Yes. Confusing? I'm trying not to be. But because we are "a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" I know that the things valued by a lot of people here on earth aren't really valuable. This changes how things and decisions get prioritized, doesn't it?
What job should I have? What house should we live in? Where should we live? What church should we go to? When should we have another kid? How much money do we need to retire? These are thought provoking questions that shouldn't be answered or decided on without consideration. But my answer won't always be the "right" answer. As in, my answer might not make sense to others, maybe even most others. My answer might not align with the Today Show's financial expert or the community report on Where to Live with the Best Schools. Here is my point: I have to say "If the Lord wills..." I can try to schedule and plan when to try to get pregnant and have another child. But if the Lord wills it, or doesn't, that's when it will happen. Same for where we live or how we live. Plain & simple. I just forget this sometimes. I forget that I'm not in control. I forget that my God is bigger than my plans, my health issues, my financial requirements and I can keep going.if you want.
Anyhow. I loved seeing on Facebook the other day when an acquaintance mentioned that a friend had advised her to open her Bible for some reading when she was feeling down. The acquaintance is someone I don't think reads her Bible regularly. And it was really awesome advice from the friend. And she found peace within the words, and then shared it with others on Facebook. Number 1 : that's why Facebook is amazing when used for good; Number 2: that's why I'm sharing on my blog. These verses, like the rest of the Bible, are words straight from God. They're powerful and never changing. And His words can provide peace in a crazy world.