Why your future shouldn't stress you out.

As I cross the ten year mark in my military career, I am often asked if I will stay in for the next ten in order to reach retirement. Admittedly, it makes less and less financial sense for a service member in my situation to get out before then, but the question always reminds me about what James wrote in
chapter 4:13-17:

 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” You don’t even know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes.  Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 

I certainly do not know what the next five or ten years hold in store, but I do know with certainty that I am not running this show, and no matter how hard I work, my career, my relationships and my life are ultimately out of my control.

This passage does not suggest that it is wrong for us to make plans or pursue goals for our careers or future. James is saying that we should do so in light of God's sovereignty in our lives and our world. And I am here to tell you that when I choose to continually trust my life to the one Sovereign God, the joy, peace and hope that I have in this life are much greater than when I try to plan it out on my own.

Are there parts of your life that aren't turning out how you expected?

Do you have peace or are you stressed and anxious about it?  Why?

Feel free to leave a comment about your experience.

JS