James 4:13-17 ESV
13 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”— 14 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. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
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1. Ignoring the will of God.
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James 4:13-14 ESV
13 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”— 14 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.
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James 4:16 ESV
16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
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Proverbs 27:1 ESV
1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
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Proverbs 16:9 ESV
9 The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
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2. Obeying the will of God.
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James 4:15 ESV
15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
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James 4:17 ESV
17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
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Colossians 1:9-10 ESV
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
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Ephesians 5:17 ESV
17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
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Romans 12:2 ESV
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
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Ephesians 6:6 ESV
6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
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Matthew 11:29-30 ESV
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
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Application:
In planning and managing your actual day-to-day living, take time to seek God’s will. Respond in obedience to God’s Word and His Spirit being confident that you will find yourself living in the will of God.
