James 4:13

Well, I wonder, do you have your summer holiday booked? Do you know what you're doing this afternoon? Do you have plans after Easter? Children, do you have plans for your school holidays at Easter? I know they just have half time, but when Easter comes, you've got plans? Those are still a bit older, have you got your pension sorted out yet? Do you know when you can retire? If you'll ever be able to retire?

Are you the sort of person who likes to book things up? Or do you prefer to look on lastminute.com and see what you can get cheaply at the end? What sort of person are you? They're not unreasonable questions, are they? It's true because we live our lives thinking a bit about the future, don't we?

So as we look at these verses in James, I want us to understand first of all what James is not criticising. What he's not criticising. Look at verse 13.

Come now, you who say today or tomorrow, we'll go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit. He's not criticising having some sort of plans for the future.

Proverbs 15, verse 22, assumes we will have plans. It says a plan fails. Without counsel, plans fail. But with many advisors, they succeed. We're expected to plan someone. If you read through the New Testament, you find the apostles planning. Romans 15, verses 24 and 25.

Proverbs 15:22 Romans 15:24

Paul talks about his plans to come to Rome and then on to Spain. And all through the Bible, we see people planning. In Luke chapter 19, Jesus tells a parable in which a king going after the crown gives his servants, some miners, to invest.

Luke 19 · chapter mention

And the one who gets told off, the one who gets judged at the end, is the one who had no plan. He had no plan of what to do, so he didn't do anything. And he was judged for it.

So if you don't have plans, we just drift and waste. If we're going to be good stewards of what God has given us, we do need to plan. That's one of the implications of that parable, even though it's not the main point.

So the sense which we need to plan. Some of you right now are planning what you're going to choose for your GCSEs, or planning what ALMS you'll choose.

Some of us are maybe planning what we hope will happen work-wise.

Financially, you need to have some plans, otherwise we'll never pay off mortgages.

Or pay our rent.

So as human beings, we have to plan, because we do not know everything, and cannot control everything.

So James is not criticising planning in itself.

So is he condemning travel?

You who say, we'll go here, we'll go there, and make some money.

Well then he's not condemning travel either.

In itself.

Again, read through the Bible, you see people travelling.

In the book of Ruth, you see Naomi leaving her homeland, travelling and travelling back.

In the book of Acts, we see people travelling left, right and centre.

Yes, to communicate the Gospel.

But in some cases, Acts chapter 16, we make a Mussolini called Midian, who had moved from her home in Thyatira in modern Turkey, to Philippi in modern Greece.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

She moved to make money.

She was a business lady.

James isn't condemning travel necessarily.

So is he condemning making a profit?

That's all these people are doing, is that we'll spend a year here and trade and make a profit.

Is that the problem?

Certainly there's a lot of people critiquing making profits, aren't they?

They occupy Wall Street and occupy London movements.

Saying capitalism is a terrible thing.

And certainly Jesus makes some warnings about money, doesn't he?

He warns us our life does not consist in the abundance of what we have in our possessions.

He warns us we cannot serve God and money.

So yes, there's a danger there.

But making a profit in itself is not necessarily a bad thing.

What if you want to eat?

So James isn't condemning planning, or profit making, or travelling.

So what is he condemning?

Well look at verse 14, we get a bit of a clue.

You've got these plans, he says, yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.

What is your life?

You're a mist that appears for a time and then vanishes.

So what James is condemning here is these people's self-confidence.

They have their plans, they think it's all going to work out.

They make their plans entirely in their own self-confidence, with no reference to God whatsoever.

As if they're completely independent from God.

As if they do not need God.

As if they were utterly in control.

So James is saying, hang on a second, who are you?

You're like a mist that is here today, gone in a moment.

Now of course James is not talking about the average British mist.

Which if it was there in the morning, could still be there at night.

He's talking about the Middle East, isn't he?

For us it's perhaps better to think of the vapour from a kettle.

Look at a kettle boiling and some water of April appears and it's gone, isn't it?

Fleets it.

He says that's what human life is like.

You cannot guarantee anything.

Look at these people.

Look at verse 13.

They're confident of their health, aren't they?

We'll go here, we'll stay there a year or two.

We'll live that long.

They're confident of their health.

They're confident of their choices.

We know this place or that place.

They're confident of their own ability.

We will pray and make a profit.

I wonder how many people heading up to the city tomorrow morning would love to have that confidence

in the current economic situation.

As John Calvin put it, their minds were drunk with vanity, so they forgot God.

They were drunk with vanity, so they forgot God.

And James makes that even clearer in verse 16.

As in the East he said, you boast in your arrogance.

Now that word boasting in the original language can be positive or negative.

It's the word Paul uses in Galatians chapter 6.

Galatians 6 · chapter mention

It's about I boast in the cross of Jesus Christ.

It's about having your confidence in something.

Well, these people have their confidence.

They boast in their confidence in what?

Their own arrogance.

Their own self-sufficiency.

Their own self-confidence.

That they are in control.

That's an easy trap for us to fall into, isn't it?

Because it's the way of the world around us.

Self-confidence is seen as a value.

Something to be prized these days, isn't it?

You can read books about how to boost your children's self-confidence.

You can hear a sportsman, they interviewed, saying,

I had to back myself.

I had to be confident.

When you look on millions of websites.

Here's one I read this week.

LiveStrong.com

That's a great website title, isn't it?

To achieve even the smallest goals.

And to get through life's daily duties and responsibilities.

You have to have self-confidence.

Self-confidence is something people aspire to.

And yet James wants us to see what that really is.

A self-confidence that assumes we do not need God.

But assumes that God does not matter.

What is it?

What is it?

What is it?

Verse 16.

What does James call this?

As it is, you boast in your arrogance.

All such boasting is evil.

All such self-confidence that thinks we do not depend on God is evil.

That's a bit of a theme here.

If you look up to verse 4, James has warned his readers

that their ambition, their desires

are actually a sign of friendship with the world

which is enmity with God.

And that then carries on with the self-confidence,

this boasting, this planning as if God didn't matter.

It is evil, says James.

One writer puts it like this.

He says,

How astonishing how sobering it is

to hear this criticism

of our self-confident planning.

He says,

What we might consider an insubstantial

and passing feature of life,

forgetfulness of our utter dependence on God,

James sees as the hard core of the vaunting pride,

which is the mark and curse of fallen man.

This kind of living as if we are independent from God,

as if we don't need God,

is the heart, the mark and curse of fallen man.

For these readers of James' letters,

it was another symptom of their double-mindedness.

Twice in this letter,

chapter 1, verse 8,

and chapter 4, verse 8,

he's called them double-minded.

They live as Christians with one half of their mind,

but in the other half of their mind,

they live as if God doesn't answer prayer,

as if it doesn't matter if they read something in the Bible

and then don't do it.

And yet,

they're happy on a Sunday to see hymns in church,

they think they'll be excellent teachers,

chapter 3, verse 1.

They think they're mature.

James says,

you're double-minded.

What you're doing is evil.

You're falling into the very sin of Adam and Eve.

When Satan disguised the serpent,

tempted Adam and Eve in the garden,

what was the heart of that temptation?

The temptation to eat the fruit from the tree

God had told them not to eat from?

Part of the temptation was this,

to live as if they were independent from God,

as if God didn't really matter.

And that's the way of the world around us, isn't it?

It tells us we should have confidence in ourselves,

and people believe God doesn't matter.

Yes, lots of people believe God doesn't exist,

but lots of people say they do believe that God exists,

but they do not believe God matters.

And that is the heart of sin,

and that is why this attitude James is writing about,

he condemns as evil.

So how can we resist those pressures?

How can we resist the pressure

to feel we have to have confidence in ourselves,

and that we actually can live independently from God?

How do we resist those pressures?

Paul, writing for Romans, chapter 12, verse 2,

Romans 12:2

tells us we're not to be conformed to this world,

not to be moulded by the attitudes and ambitions

and beliefs of this world,

but be transformed by the renewing of our minds,

that we discern what is the will of God,

who is good and acceptable and perfect.

And James here, that's a general principle,

not to be conformed, but to be transformed.

And James, back in verse 6,

has really told us how we need to respond.

If you look up to verse 6 for a moment,

it says,

God gives more grace,

therefore it says,

God opposes the proud,

but gives grace to the humble.

God opposes the arrogance

that says we can live life on our own,

but he gives grace, help,

to the humble who will submit,

who will have the right attitude.

So how can we humbly submit?

How can we get this right attitude to God,

as we inevitably plan for the future

and think about the future?

Well, let me give us three questions to ponder,

to help us get that right attitude.

First of all,

who do you think you are?

Who do you think is in control?

And thirdly,

how then should we live?

Who do you think you are?

Who do you think is in control?

And how then should we live?

So let's look at them in order.

First of all,

who do you think you are?

We'll go back to verse 14.

James more or less asks the same question,

isn't he?

You do not know what tomorrow will bring.

What is your life?

You're a mist that appears for a little time,

then vanishes.

You are ignorant,

you are transient,

and therefore,

you are totally dependent.

That's what James is saying.

You're ignorant.

You don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.

You might have all sorts of plans,

but you do not know what will happen.

I know that every day.

I start off with a list of things I'm hoping to do,

and it never works out,

because other things always happen.

We don't analyze what will happen, do we?

A bus might run a saver,

a plane might land on your house.

It might not land on your house,

it might land on my house,

run on the boat halfway to the North London,

so they go every 45 seconds at peak times.

We just don't know.

We are ignorant.

Over the next few months,

we'll have politicians on either side of the debate

telling us what will happen

if we vote yes or no

to the in-out referendum.

The truth is,

no one knows.

No one knows.

They'll do their best to try and persuade us.

I'm sure we have to plan

and listen to the argument,

but no one knows.

We do not know.

We are ignorant.

And we are transient.

We're at the vapour from our kettles.

We're here one moment,

and gone another.

We don't know how long we'll live.

And where do we get our abilities from anyway?

James' readers have these plans

of making money,

but who gave them the ability?

To make money?

To trade and profit?

Who gives you or I the ability to think?

To work?

To learn?

To sow?

It all comes from the Lord God, doesn't it?

And yet how easily we forget,

especially when life is going well,

we forget, don't we?

That's why Moses,

addressing the people of Israel,

was there preparing to move into the promised land.

In Deuteronomy chapter 8,

Deuteronomy 8 · chapter mention

he said this to them,

Beware, lest you say in your heart,

my power,

and the might of my hand,

have gained me this wealth.

You shall remember the Lord your God,

for it is he who gives you power

to get wealth.

Our abilities all come from the Lord God,

who are utterly dependent upon him.

That's why Jesus teaches us to pray for our daily bread.

It does not just come automatically

for our employees' benevolence

to pay our salary.

Ultimately, it comes from God,

upon whom we are dependent for all things.

In Luke chapter 12,

Luke 12 · chapter mention

Jesus tells a famous parable

that illustrates our transience,

and our ignorance,

and our total dependence.

The parable of the rich fools,

we tend to call it.

There's a man,

a rich farmer,

who has a bumper crop,

who thinks,

what can I do?

Oh, I know,

I'll build even bigger barns.

I can store all my food

in those bigger barns,

and then I can relax.

I can enjoy myself.

I can go on a luxury cruise.

I can play golf every day.

I can enjoy my retirement.

I'll have all the money I need.

I can eat, drink, and be merry.

And God appears to him and says,

you fool.

This very night,

your life is required of you.

We are ignorant.

We do not know what tomorrow holds.

We are transient.

We're here today and gone tomorrow.

We are utterly dependent on God

for our lives,

for our abilities,

for everything.

So who do you think you are?

Who do you think you are?

And secondly,

who do you think is in control?

Well, James makes it clear

in verse 15, isn't he?

Instead of having these plans

and saying,

I'm going to do this,

I'm going to do that.

Instead, verse 15,

you ought to say,

if the Lord wills,

we will live

and do this or that.

You see the emphasis here.

It's if we live,

if the Lord wills,

we will live.

It's not just if the Lord wills,

we'll do this and that.

If the Lord wills,

we will live.

If the Lord spares us another day,

then yes,

we'll go and do something.

But we're dependent on God

for how long we live.

Psalm 139,

Psalms 139:16

verse 16,

your eyes saw my unformed substance.

In your book

were written every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there were none of them.

I don't know how long I'll live,

I don't know how long you will live.

But God knows.

He had them all written down in his book

before any one of them came to pass.

We're dependent upon him.

So James says,

we have to say,

if the Lord wills.

Now that's not a magic formula

with a dear,

retired,

missionary friend of ours

who sends us Christmas cards.

I actually got a car from her this week

which didn't have this saying

for the first time ever.

And she writes,

DV,

at least once,

DV,

Deo Volente,

if God wills.

Now I'm sure that was actually

meant very sincerely in her case.

She's a godly elder lady.

But it's not just a kind of magic formula.

If God wills,

I'll do this.

If God wills,

I'll do that.

There are plenty of people

in the first century Palestine

that did the era when James wrote,

who wrote things like God willing,

if the gods permit,

on their statutes,

on their documents.

The people today,

who say,

oh,

I'm going to get a promotion,

I'm going to get a payroll,

touch wood.

And they touch wood,

if somehow that makes a difference.

There are plenty of people

who believe in fate

or believe their stars

have something to do with

the outcome of their lives.

But James isn't saying

any of those things.

He's willing to cultivate

an attitude of true dependence

on the one who really has control.

Notice three things

about this one who is in control.

First of all,

he's personal.

That's why James says,

if the Lord wills.

He doesn't even say,

if God wills.

He says,

if the Lord wills.

That's the word used

in the Greek translation

of the Old Testament.

To translate a personal name of God.

The Lord.

Of course,

the name

that is used

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

God is personal.

He's not like the

impersonal force

in Star Wars.

May the force be with you.

He's not like the

impersonal force

of Hinduism.

He's not like the

distant deity

of Islam.

Oh,

if Allah wills,

we'll do this.

Impersonal.

And distant.

No,

he is personal.

He's come in the flesh

to reveal himself to us.

We see that

through the Lord Jesus.

So firstly,

he's personal.

Secondly,

he is sovereign.

He is utterly

in control of everything.

Those words,

if we have our call to worship

at the start of the service.

Whatever the Lord

pleases,

he does.

Psalm 135,

Psalms 135:6

verse 6.

Whatever the Lord

pleases,

he does.

In heaven and on earth,

in the seas

and all deeps.

In other words,

everywhere in the universe,

God does what

he pleases.

Ephesians chapter 1,

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

Paul says,

he works out all things

according to the purpose

of his will.

He is personal.

He is sovereign.

Thirdly,

he is good.

He is good.

Hard times come,

don't they?

Difficult things happen.

When illness strikes,

when a loved one

is lost,

when our hopes

are dashed,

when dreams

don't work out,

life can be hard,

there can be grief

in many trials,

and yet,

God is good.

And we know

he's good.

We know he's good

because he sent

his own son

to live the life

that we couldn't live,

to die the death

that we deserve to die,

so that rebels

like me and you

could become

his children.

And if he has given

us his son,

as Paul says

in Romans 8,

will he not graciously

give us all things,

all things we actually need?

He is good.

In Romans 8,

28,

Paul says,

we know that

for those who love God,

all things

work together

for good

for those who are called

according to God's purpose.

God's purpose.

So who do you think

you are?

You're in this.

Who do you think

is in control?

The triune God,

the good,

sovereign,

personal God.

So how then

should we live?

How then should we live?

Well, look back

at verse 15.

James sets us

in the right direction

here, doesn't he?

Instead of having

your own plans,

instead of living

with an attitude

of independence,

be independent,

you should say,

if the Lord wills,

we will live

and do this

or that.

So to submit.

God opposes the proud

who gives grace

to the humble.

We humbly submit.

And there are two

aspects to this.

We submit

to God's providential

ordering

of events

in our lives.

We submit

to God's providential

ordering of events.

And we submit

to God's revealed

will

in the scriptures.

So first of all,

we submit

to his providential

ordering.

If the Lord wills,

he'll keep us alive.

If the Lord

wills something else,

we'll submit to it.

I was speaking

to someone the other

day who told me

about when they'd

been given a diagnosis

of Parkinson's disease

many years ago.

So I wanted to

throw myself under

a bus.

Because I knew

what that does.

I think another

friend of mine,

a very fit man

in his early 60s,

recently retired,

who was running

one day,

he ran marathons,

just tripped up,

and thought,

that's strange.

And he noticed

one or two other

things.

He started to look

into what was

going wrong with

himself.

Within a couple

of months,

he had a diagnosis

of motor neurone

disease,

which is a terrible

degenerative disease.

After about three

years,

he died last September.

It's not easy

to submit

the providence

that God brings

into our lives.

Some may be hard,

those diagnoses,

may be hard

when we don't

go to the school

we want to go to,

or the university

we think we'd like

to go to.

What are we going

to do in those

moments?

Well,

James has told

this,

hasn't he?

We can submit

ourselves to God

in verse 10

of chapter 4,

he says,

humble yourselves

before the Lord

and he will

exhort you.

Instead of finding

faults with God's

providences,

we can lean into

him,

we can trust in

him,

we can look at

his good promises.

Remember,

he is personal

and good

and sovereign.

even when our

prayers aren't

answered,

even when the

healing doesn't

come,

even when we

live with

degeneration and

decay in our

bodies,

we know he is

good.

We know that

the one who

could bring

ultimate good

from the ultimate

tragedy,

the ultimate

tragedy of the

death of his

innocent son,

the ultimate

good of salvation

for all who

will believe,

the one who

can do that

can bring good

and give grace

to us in the

midst of our

heartaches and

disappointments.

William Cooper,

the poet,

who suffered

a depression

and tried to

take his own

life several

times,

and it's him

the Lord

works in

mysterious ways,

but it's

this verse,

Judge not the

Lord by

feeble sense,

but trust him

for his grace.

Behind a

frowning

providence,

he hides

a smiling

face.

God gives

more grace,

James tells

us in

verse 6.

Grace to

live for the

things he

sends to

our lives,

grace to

raise us

up on the

last day.

So we

submit to

God's

providences,

to the

things he

sends into

our lives.

But secondly,

submitting to

the Lord

means submitting

to his

revealed will,

submitting to

what he

commands us,

what he

teaches us

in the

scriptures.

There's

nothing we

get hung

up

about

questions of

guidance.

Perhaps

some of you

are thinking

that right

now.

What should

I do for

my GCSEs?

Which

university

should I

apply to?

Which job

should I

seek to

do?

Should I

seek to

move jobs?

Should I

move

habits?

Lots of

questions,

we want

guidance.

Well God's

guidance is

not primarily

about do I

do A or

B, do I

go to

place A or

place B.

God's

guidance

primarily is

about how

we live,

not where

we live.

So for

example,

Psalm 23,

Psalms 23:3

verse 3

says,

he leads

me in

paths of

righteousness

for his

name's

sake.

He leads

us to

live his

ways.

And as we

do that,

he directs

us in the

paths he

wants us

to be in.

And we

know what

God's will

is generally,

don't we?

It's not

complicated to

understand it.

It's his

will that we

love God

with all our

heart, soul,

mind and

strength.

It's his

will that we

love our

neighbours as

ourselves.

It's his

will that we

don't worry

about what

we'll eat

or drink

and what

we're going

to wear.

Jesus says

the pagans

run after

these things.

No,

seek first

God's

kingdom and

his

righteousness

and all

these things

will be

added to

you.

Now that

gives us a

fair amount of

guidance,

doesn't it,

about what we

need to do.

As we think

about decisions,

we think about

plans for the

future.

Will this

help me to

love God

with more

heart,

soul,

mind and

strength?

Will it

help me to

love my

neighbour as

myself?

Will it

help me to

seek first

God's

kingdom and

his

righteousness?

If we find

that our

plans are

mainly concerned

with making

money purely

for our

own comfort,

getting a

good pension

so we can

purely retire

from God,

of course,

not doing

anything ever

again,

then probably

that's not

seeking first

God's

kingdom.

Probably

that's not

actually loving

our neighbour

as ourselves.

So probably

that's wrong.

Probably

that's not

God's will.

So submitting

ourselves to

God means

submitting

ourselves to

purposes he

brings into

our lives.

And submitting

ourselves to

his revealed

will of the

scriptures.

Life is not

about building

our own

kingdoms,

but about

being part

of the

kingdom Jesus

is building.

And of

course that

can be

costly,

can't it?

That can

be costly.

I know

people from

in this

moment,

stepping out

of the

rat race,

stepping out

of potential

promotions,

so they've

got more

time to

give to

serving

our family

or serving

in our

church.

For some

it will

mean giving

up on

jobs or

looking at

jobs which

keep them

employed

on a

Sunday

because they

want the

cost,

they'll

take the

cost so

they can

be with

God's

people

Sunday

by

Sunday.

We have

an example

of following

this,

don't we?

Our

great high

priest knows

what it

is to

make costly

decisions to

obey the

father's

will.

Jesus,

in the

night that he

was betrayed,

knelt in

Gethsemane,

sweating

blood,

praying,

take this

cup from

me,

yet not

my will

but your

will be

done.

And he

went to

the cross.

And so

now as our

great high

priest in

heaven,

we find

grace in

our time

of need

as we

go to

the one

who's

made

costly

decisions,

the one

who knows

it's hard

to trust

and obey

sometimes.

He has

been there

and done

that for

us.

So if we

submit to

the Lord's

will,

we find

grace,

grace from

the Lord

Jesus to

help us

in those

times,

grace when

it is

hard,

hard to

live,

hard to

obey.

That is

how we

should live.

There's also

a warning

here back in

verse 17.

Verse 16,

as it is,

you boast in

your arrogance,

all such

boasting is

evil.

In verse 17,

listen to this

warning.

So whoever

knows the

right thing

to do

and fails

to do

it,

for him

it is

sin.

In the

immediate

context for

us and for

James'

readers,

if we keep

on carrying

on,

organising

our lives

and planning

our futures

as if God

didn't exist

or as if

God didn't

matter,

as if we

weren't

dependent

upon him,

then that

is sin.

That is

rebellion

against God.

If we

keep trusting

our own

self-confidence,

not humbly

submitting to

the Lord,

that is

sin,

James says.

We can't

hide the

fact that

we haven't

done anything

wrong.

James says

you know

better,

you have

done

something

wrong.

That's a

specific

point.

That's also

a broader

point in

life,

isn't it?

If we

know what

God wants

and we

do not

do it,

that is

sin.

Paul

in

preaching

on the

Viscals

a few

weeks ago

reminded us

about sins

of omission,

which we

often take

quite lightly,

don't we?

Confess the

wrong things

we have

done.

We often

don't confess

the good

things,

the right

things we

fail to

do.

We have

it in our

confession

Sunday by

Sunday.

The good

we have

left undone

to confess

this morning.

So what

are some

of the

things that

you and

I know

are right

but do

not do?

Children,

what about

you at

school?

You know

it's right,

don't you,

to love and

be kind to

other children.

Perhaps

there's

someone in

your class

who's

neglected

and bullied

a bit

and left

out.

Perhaps

sometimes

you just

ignore them

or go

along with

that.

If you

know it's

right to

show love

and kindness

to them,

then that's

something you

can do

tomorrow.

You can

pray today,

pray that

you're

mum and

dad,

mums and

dads

tonight,

that God

will give

you grace

to love

that child

and befriend

them.

Not exclude

them.

Perhaps we

know there

are things

we haven't

sorted out

yet.

We know

the son

we haven't

said sorry

to.

Some sin

we haven't

repented

of.

Perhaps we

know money

should not

be gone in

our lives

and yet we

haven't yet

got round to

sorting out

our giving.

So easy to

take that

drift,

isn't it?

I know

it's easy to

take that

drift.

I hate

giving the

money.

Yet if we

know things

that haven't

done,

James says

that is

sin.

We know

we should

talk to

our neighbours

about the

Lord Jesus.

We know

we should

pray for

people to

come into

the kingdom.

Yet do

we do it?

So whoever

knows the

right thing

to do and

fails to

do it,

for him

is sin.

Now I

don't know

about you,

but I can

feel very

overwhelmed

as I look

at the list

of good

things I

haven't done.

It can be

very overwhelming,

can't it?

That's why

we need to

finish with

this great

promise back

up in

verse 6.

Do

look at

chapter 4

verse 6

again,

let's read

it again.

But God

gives more

grace,

therefore it,

the scripture

says,

God opposes

the proud

and gives

grace to

the humble.

Submit

yourself

therefore to

God,

resist the

devil,

and he

will flee.

If we

humble

ourselves

before the

Lord,

he gives

us more

grace.

Grace to

forgive,

grace to

cleanse us

from our

sin,

grace to

make us

new.

We are

the first

fruits of

God's new

creation,

as James

says back

in verse

18.

Grace to

cope with

the illness,

with the

grief,

with the

pains,

with the

trials.

We will

submit ourselves

to

faith rather

than fault

finally with

his providence.

God gives

grace.

And see the

ultimate promise,

verse 10,

humble yourselves

before the

Lord,

he will

exhort you.

That's what

happened to

Jesus,

wasn't it?

He humbled

himself,

became obedient

to death

on the

cross,

and now

is exalted

to the

highest place

and has

the name

above all

names.

And that

is the

pattern of

the Christian

life.

We humble

ourselves

now.

We humble

ourselves and

submit our

plans to

God.

We will

not exalt

ourselves,

but he

will exalt

us.

And our

exaltation

will be

complete when

Jesus comes

back.

We live

forever with

him.

And every

tear is

wiped away,

every grief

forgotten,

and every

joy complete

for all

eternity.

So Jesus

suffered for

sin,

so that we

can be God's

children.

So we

submit ourselves

to him

now.

We can be

exalted

there.

The

sovereign

Lord holds

the future,

so he

must humbly

!

submitting

to his

rule of

the field

and scriptures,

and knowing

one day we

will be

exalted

with him

as prayer.