As I type out this article closing out one year moving into the next, the snow falls steadily outside the window disclosing in God’s uncanny way how uncertain, yet exciting are the paths of life. As the Apostle James rightly puts it in 4:13-15: “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.’” When we set out on a journey, we never really know what the Lord has in store for us. We tend to forget that it is He who truly has control over our lives and not us. We fight against that fact constantly in our sinful humanity but much to our own frustration. Regardless of our efforts to the contrary, the Lord shows us in ways both great and small that even though “the mind of man plans his way...the Lord directs his steps.” (rf. Proverbs 16:9)
So, why bring this up? Why stress these things at this time? It should be quite obvious. At this time of year, the world around us makes a very big deal about making plans, reprioritizing one’s life, setting up new resolutions to follow as the new year begins. If we heed this wisdom, we will start out with good intentions and, then, in just a short while, the intentions will fall by the wayside as we allow the cares of life to dictate the decisions we make, overriding the good intentions of yore.
However, if we heeded the wisdom of James and the author of the proverb (probably Solomon) we would realize a different end. Notice that in both cases, there is a clear submission of one’s life to the Lord on a daily basis. This produces humility in attitude and spirit as well as an understanding that none of us ultimate control our own destiny. When we affirm the Lordship of Christ in our lives, we see Him as He is Biblically portrayed, “Lord of all”. That designation is not limited to all things outside of ourselves, but it includes ourselves as well. This does not relegate us to mindless robots, but to beings within the scope of His will, fully responsible for our own decisions yet even those decisions are under the jurisdiction of His plan. Joseph understood this principle perfectly as he explained it to his brothers when they bowed before him as governor over all of Egypt: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” (rf. Genesis 50:20)
The truth that we need to see clearly as we proceed into this new year is this: seek and submit. Seek the Lord and His wisdom in everything that we do. If we claim His Name and to be His followers/servants, then it only follows that we need to be attentive to where He leads and what He says to do. He has already given us His Word; therefore, we have only to read it and do what it says... which lead us to the second part of the truth. Not only in attitude but in action, we need to be submissive in our hearts. We should be humble before Him and our fellow man, readily recognizing that His way is much better than our own, His plans far exceeding ours in wisdom and authority. Then after seeking and being submissive, we should follow through with what we believe we are being led to do, regardless if conventional wisdom or popularity tries to convince us otherwise, always verifying our leadings by the clear teachings of His Word. God does not operate by worldly ways, mind you. As His Word testifies, His ways are not ours...but much higher than our own (paraphrase of Isaiah 55:9).
This new year lies before us all with great possibilities and opportunities. Let us then pursue the course that the Lord has set out for us to follow and not the one that we have developed on our own, now understanding that His way and will for us is always best.
