13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”
14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.”
“We ought to say if it is the Lord’s will?” [Unequivocally, yes!]
“I don’t understand. Is James writing that if we want to do something that ISN’T the Lord’s will, it will not take place no matter what we do?” [Absolutely correct, it will not take place!]
“That can’t be, man has a free will! Certainly James didn’t mean that the will of God would override our free will if we wanted to do something different.” [Sorry, that is exactly what he meant!]
Not only does God determine the time and place for every man to be born, live, and die (Acts 17:26) - God has a plan for everyone’s life. There is not a man who ever lived who did not accomplish God’s will for his life. There is not a man who ever walked this earth who lived outside of God’s will. This is confirmed in Proverbs 16:9 that CLEARLY says God determines our steps no matter what plans we may make. God has a plan for our life and it WILL take place no matter what we may think, do or say. This is why James, the (half) brother of Jesus Christ, writes that we should say IF IT IS THE LORD’S WILL we will do this or that!
Bottom Line: The Will of the Lord WILL transpire in our lives whether we believe it or not, whether we accept it or not, and whether we want it or not. And yes, this includes whether someone will be saved or not.
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