“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”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” — James 4:13-15
A few weeks ago, many people from our church attended the Faithcamp/DTC Conference in Alamosa, Colorado. It was five days of teachings, worship, fellowship, meals, games, and heat. It was so encouraging. Also, tiring. Thank you for praying for the conference; the Lord indeed blessed it!
I know we’re all busy. So many things occupy our thoughts and time. Some seasons are certainly busier than others. I’m in one of those seasons of life right now. With it comes overthinking, under-sleeping, and a good dose of worrying.
When I’ve got a lot going on, I make lists. To-do lists, to-buy lists, fix-it lists, need-to-schedule lists, calls-to-make lists, work lists, family lists, church lists…and on it goes. I even write my lists with a physical pen and paper!
Author F.M. Alexander said, “People don’t define their futures, they decide their habits, and their habits decide their future.”
We all have habits. They range from the mundane (like brushing our teeth or what we listen to on our way to work) to practicing an instrument or creating art. Habits can be amoral, while others can be sinful. Whatever type it is, it will affect you (positively or negatively).
“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” — Daniel 3:16-18
You remember the scene? Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar made a statue 90 feet high. Then, he gathered all of his officials (including these three, faithful men). He told everyone to bow down and worship his golden image. In fact, it was a capital crime not to worship the idol. And famously, these men did not. Undeniably, their response to the king was remarkable for three reasons.
Three Remarkable Reasons
First of all, they didn’t feel a need to justify themselves to the king. (“…we have no need to answer you in this matter.”)
Secondly, they knew God could save them. They just didn’t know if God would save them. What fantastic faith!
Thirdly, (and maybe the most remarkable statement of all from these men) “But if not.” Essentially, even if God doesn’t save us, we will still not bow down and worship your idol.
Think about that. Those three men submitted their plans to God’s plan. Even if God’s plan was for them to suffer a horrific death by immolation (being burned alive).
What a challenge for us. How much of my obedience to God is linked to Him following my plans for my life? By contrast, those three men obeyed God, without knowing if He was going to save them. “But if not.” May we all obey God — not because He follows our plans, but because of who He is!
I recently had the opportunity to attend the National Worship Leader Conference in Tennessee. Pastor Steele taught a workshop at the conference, so another brother and I decided to tag along to support him! During the week, we had a lot of fun being together. We talked about Jesus and laughed. Furthermore, we met several new friends and had numerous opportunities to tell people, “this is what the Lord has done in our lives.”
