Pursuing the Will of God

​James 4:15-17 ~ “Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”
 
Let us never presume that our agenda is also the will of God. Many of God’s children walk through life with the notion that those things they desire to accomplish are also the purposed will of the Almighty. James 4:13 describes it, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit.’” This is more than just being an industrious individual seeking to advance their business and secure a better financial future. This statement is rich with presumptive words such as “we will” do such and such. The rebuke comes in James 4:14, “Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.” And that is the rub. Not one person alive on this earth has any real notion of the events filling up tomorrow. There is only One who knows what tomorrow will bring—and that is the LORD God.
 
So, as we consider our text for this day, we read this, “Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we live and do this or that.’” This is a hard thing for some. There are those who hold to the notion that they must “declare” or “affirm” the will of God, or that if they say the statement, “if the Lord wills” then, somehow, they are living in doubts and disagreement with God’s Divine plan. Others take the Scripture beyond its context and see the various events happening in the Word and assume that it also meant for their own experience. For example: Jesus performed great healings and gave the apostles the means to heal in His name. Today, we see many who testify that it is God’s will that all be healed and they presume upon the events of the LORD Jesus as an activity destined for them as well. They call upon the LORD and make grand proclamations concerning God’s will, all the while, people remain in their same state of infirmity. A great act of presumption happened in the book of Acts with the sons of a man named Sceva (see Acts 19:1-17).
 
So, beloved, in pursuing the will of God, we must remain humble, knowing that we do not know the specific will of God for all circumstances. James warns us in the next statement of our text today, “As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.” What was the arrogance in which they boasted? It was the presumption of believing that they knew exactly what would happen if they pursued a course of events—going to such and such a town and... make a profit. Making a profit was not the boast, it was the assumption that it was an inevitable situation. Let us remember that God, “opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). Proverbs 6:16-19 speaks of the things God hates, and the first is “haughty eyes.” Let us not arrogantly presume upon the will of God, knowing that all such boasting is evil. Instead, we are to walk in humility before God, submitting ourselves to the will of God as each moment advances into the next.
 
So, do we take an ambivalent approach to the will of God? Sort of a “laissez faire” mentality? Not at all. Our next portion of the text tells us how we must approach pursuing the will of God. We read, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” And this begs the question: do you know the right thing to do? In every moment you live, every step you take as you navigate this earth, you have options and opportunities to do the right thing. And it is in doing those right things, those momentary good works, saying “yes” to the LORD in the obedience of the moment, will press you further into the will of God than any other activity of your life. Paul told the Philippians, “Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained” (Philippians 3:15-16). Another translation of “hold true” is to “live up to what you already know.” Do you know some right things to do? Of course you do! All believers, even the newest members of the family of Christ, know something that God has commanded. And as you hold true to what you have attained, you will discover that God will reveal more.
 
Pursuing the will of God does not have to be a complicated set of spiritual calculations. Simply take every step with the intent of doing the good that you can. You might be surprised when you look back, for you will see that you have actually lived in the will of God.
 
In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

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