Life is so unpredictable that the encouragement to live for today has to be sound advice. We don’t know what today will contain, let alone tomorrow! Bragging about what is going to happen tomorrow has to be completely foolish. In his letter, James describes a cocky businessman who had decided that he was going to go to certain town and stay there for a year and make a fat profit. James pops the balloon of his self-confidence by pointing out that “life is like the morning fog – it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.’ Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil” (James 4:14-16).

Planning for the future isn’t wrong. Planning is wise and helpful, but it always needs to be done with humility, because our life is in God’s hands, not our own. Years ago, Christians often used to say to one another: “I’ll see you next Sunday DV.” The DV stood for [itals]deo volente[end itals], which means ‘God willing’. It was a constant reminder that whatever we do is subject to God’s will. It would probably be good to start saying it again.

Does all this talk about the uncertainty of the future sound morbid? It shouldn’t do. In fact, when we understand how incredibly precious each and every day is, it should enormously increase our appreciation of every moment that the Lord gives us. When we know that our future is securely in God’s hands, we can always be confident that the best is yet to come.

What are your plans for the future?

Loving Father, thank you for the gift of each day and for the privilege of knowing that you will never leave my side. Amen