Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.
I was talking with a friend the other day and the word “alignment” came up. It was a way of describing our relationship with God as it should be. We should be in alignment with God’s will.
If what we are doing is something God wants to be done, it will go well. If what we are doing is not God’s will, it will not go well.
In the early days of the church, shortly after the ascension of Jesus, Peter and other Apostles were in the temple courts teaching about Jesus. The Jewish leaders had already thrown them into prison. God’s angel released them and told them to go back and teach, and so they did. This infuriated the Jewish leaders. What they wanted was the whole “Jesus thing” to go away. But that was not God’s will. Instead, God’s will is that the Good News of Jesus Christ is shared throughout the world.
The Jewish leaders were going to put the Apostles to death. Then, a respected leader of the Jewish Council stood up and cautioned the Jews:
“Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
(Acts 5: 38b-39)
Now maybe what you are doing today is not the equivalent of standing up to the ruling council of ancient Jerusalem in the name of Jesus. Maybe you are just calling a neighbor to see if they are okay. God’s will is looking, “…after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1: 27b)
Remember who James is talking to! He is talking to “stiff-necked people” who are used to arguing with God. They have centuries of traditions that are based on human arrogance to overcome. The Jewish Christians of James’ day needed a stern tone. But honestly, don’t we all some days?
Forgetting that we are subject to God’s presence and his will is evil.
Application: Remember God is God and you are not. Read His Word every day. Talk with Him every day. He likes it!
Food for Thought: What is it about what James tells us to say that pleases God?
That we are seeking God’s will shows that we have included Him not just as Savior, but as Lord. This is Palm Sunday. He is a Mighty King and should be treated as such. A subject seeks to do the will of their king, not the other way around.
There used to be a bumper sticker that said, “God is my co-pilot.” The problem is that keeps me “in control” when I’m really not. Acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty amidst our free will, and humbling ourselves to His will, brings, satisfaction, contentment and eventual, if not sooner, reward. Hebrews 11:6.
Great point JEC.
“If what we are doing is something God wants to be done, it will go well.”
Jesus tells us this same thing in Matthew 6:33, My favorite verse for bringing me back to reality as I act like a little puppy who has just seen something new.
Matthew 6:33, KJV
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6:33, NIV
33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Well said JEC and Ron
👍🏻