November 20
Ezekiel 40:28-41:26; James 4:1-17; Psalm 118:19-29; Proverbs 28:3-5
In the final paragraph of today’s reading from James, one writer suggests we picture a businessman pointing to a map as his friends look on: Here is where the Romans are developing a new community. We need to invest in land—now. We’ll make a fortune.
But then James breaks in: There is a serious problem with your plan. You have no control over the future.
Life is unpredictable. Business plans are tentative. Relationships can hold surprises. Even our next heartbeat belongs to God. When it comes to tomorrow we can only speculate—or fear. We simply don’t know what the next day will bring with a job offer, our health, a friend, a child, a marriage.
C. S. Lewis, in his book God in the Dock, writes: “In Hamlet a branch breaks and Ophelia is drowned. Did she die because the branch broke or because Shakespeare wanted her to die at that point in the play? Either—both—whichever you please. The alternative suggested by the question is not a real alternative at all—once you have grasped that Shakespeare is making the whole play.”
It is God who is in control. It is God who is making the whole play. And tomorrow belongs to him.
That is a good thing. We are to acknowledge him in our speech, give him tomorrow in our hearts, and rest in him.
Father, please help me remember that you are sovereign over tomorrow and will be with me regardless of what I face. Amen.
Question: What current work, family, or relationship plans do you need to consciously turn over to God?
In the final paragraph of today’s reading from James, one writer suggests we picture a businessman pointing to a map as his friends look on: Here is where the Romans are developing a new community. We need to invest in land—now. We’ll make a fortune.
But then James breaks in: There is a serious problem with your plan. You have no control over the future.
Life is unpredictable. Business plans are tentative. Relationships can hold surprises. Even our next heartbeat belongs to God. When it comes to tomorrow we can only speculate—or fear. We simply don’t know what the next day will bring with a job offer, our health, a friend, a child, a marriage.
C. S. Lewis, in his book God in the Dock, writes: “In Hamlet a branch breaks and Ophelia is drowned. Did she die because the branch broke or because Shakespeare wanted her to die at that point in the play? Either—both—whichever you please. The alternative suggested by the question is not a real alternative at all—once you have grasped that Shakespeare is making the whole play.”
It is God who is in control. It is God who is making the whole play. And tomorrow belongs to him.
That is a good thing. We are to acknowledge him in our speech, give him tomorrow in our hearts, and rest in him.
Father, please help me remember that you are sovereign over tomorrow and will be with me regardless of what I face. Amen.
Question: What current work, family, or relationship plans do you need to consciously turn over to God?
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