A Puff of Smoke

James 4:
v. 13: 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."
v. 14: You don't even know what tomorrow will bring -- what your life will be! For you are a bit of smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes.

If we really saw our lives as a bit of smoke that appears then vanishes quickly, how much importance would we place on it? How might it change our focus?

We don't know what tomorrow will bring. I heard a friend say yesterday, "Life can change in a second." Sometimes we think we have it all figured out then something unexpected happens and all our plans dramatically change. The people in Japan didn't know a 9.0 earthquake was going to hit, followed by a horrendous tsunami; I didn't know one beautiful autumn morning that I was going to break my kneecap causing me to put my life on hold and take a leave of absence from seminary; Aron Ralston didn't know a boulder was going to fall on his arm while rock climbing, trapping him for 127 hours only to be freed by him amputating his own arm.

We make our plans and hope they come to pass then God shows us He has other plans. This is not to say God causes bad things to happen to us but I do believe He allows them into our lives because He is going to use them to His glory. But James explains that we shouldn't stop planning but be willing to submit to God's will...

v. 15: Instead you should say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."