Only God Knows

Proverbs 27:1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.

James 4:13-16 reminds us that boasting of what we will do today, tomorrow, or the next day is evil. It is evil because the basis for the boasting is arrogance. When we boast about the future, we say that we know better than God that tomorrow will come, and that the plans we made will come to pass. Do not get me wrong, this does not mean that we should not plan for the future. However, when we do plan, we must keep in mind that God tells us that life is like a vapor (James 4:14), and that we do not know what tomorrow will bring. In Luke 12 Jesus told the parable of the rich fool. In that parable the rich fool made plans to build greater barns than what he had, in order to store his crops. In response to this man's plans God said, in verse 20, "Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?" The reality of life is that we do not know what is going to happen from one moment to the next. This does not mean that we should live life being paranoid. What it does mean is that we must live this life trusting the Lord with every moment and in every circumstance. We must trust that He knows what is happening, and what is going to happen. We must trust that the future is in His hands, and whenever we make our plans, we make them in pencil and give God the eraser. For this reason James tells us in verse 15 that when we make our plans we say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." The bottom line is that when it is all said and done, only God knows.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 7:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).