Plans for the Future...

Scripture:
James 4:13-15 (NASB)

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit."  Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.  Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that."

Devotional:

Planning for the future seems to be a huge pastime.  We all make plans, have dreams, and set goals.  At the end of every school year our church shows a video of high school graduates.  The video is a slide show of each graduate.  It gives their name, what school they attended, and future dreams.  Watching the pictures scroll by I thought of some of my big plans for the future.  Looking back I can see where some dreams were fulfilled, while others are left unfulfilled.  There are some dreams that simply changed over time.

It is important to dream and plan for the future.  However, we cannot neglect the here and now.  More importantly we cannot neglect to seek God’s will.  As time passed some of my dreams were not in line with God’s will.  These dreams either went unfulfilled or changed.  New dreams or goals replace the old ones.  As I plan for my future, and my family’s future, I need to remember God.  He must be the focus of what we do.  It is important to check with God to see if our plans coincide with His will.  If so plug away.  If not, we need to look at making some changes.  

We do not know what tomorrow holds for us.  Our lives might be demanded of us tonight.  God may have some unexpected plans for us.  The road He would have us travel may be different than the one we first choose.  Are you willing to adapt your plans?  Do your plans include God?  Is He your focus?  Make it a point to include Jesus in all your plans, dreams, and goals.  Most importantly do not neglect today for tomorrow’s sake.  Today’s problems will only show up tomorrow if left alone.  We should live each day as if it is our last.  

No matter what God is with us.  We just have to include Him.  He is willing and waiting for the invitation…