Embracing Humility: Surrendering Our Plans to God

James’ words cut straight to the heart of our desire for control. It’s easy to spot arrogance when it’s loud and obvious, but James exposes a much subtler form: the quiet presumption that tomorrow is ours to command. Planning is not the problem—God calls us to be wise and diligent—but planning without reference to God’s will is. When we map out our futures, our careers, our family schedules, and our dreams without pausing to ask, “Lord, what do you have for me?” we slip into a kind of practical atheism, living as if God is not sovereign over our days.

James challenges us to recover a posture of humility, to hold our plans with open hands, and to acknowledge that every breath, every opportunity, every tomorrow is a gift from the Lord. The old phrase, “Lord willing,” is more than a quaint saying; it’s a daily act of worship, a reminder that our lives are a mist—here for a moment, then gone. When we forget this, we don’t just make unwise choices; we sin by quietly sidelining God from our lives.

This is not a call to superstition or passivity, but to surrender. True wisdom is not just about making good plans, but about making them in submission to God’s will, seeking His wisdom, and being willing to let Him redirect us. Our culture tells us to be the captains of our fate, but the gospel calls us to trust the One who holds our future. Jesus himself modeled this surrender, praying, “Not my will, but yours be done.” Where we boast, He humbled Himself; where we cling to control, He released it. His perfect obedience covers our failures, and His Spirit enables us to walk in humble dependence.

So, as we plan, as we dream, as we set goals, let’s do so with a heart that says, “If the Lord wills.” Let’s recapture the beauty of daily dependence, trusting that God’s sovereignty is not a threat to our joy, but the very foundation of it. Our plans are sand, but He is the rock on which we stand.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Subtle Presumption Is Still Pride It’s not just the loud, defiant rejection of God’s authority that James confronts, but the quiet, everyday presumption that tomorrow belongs to us. Planning without reference to God’s will is a form of arrogance, even if it looks responsible on the outside. This subtle pride can easily go unnoticed, but it is just as spiritually dangerous as open rebellion. [07:40]
• 2. Worship God in Your Planning, Not Your Plans The way we respond when our plans are interrupted reveals what we truly worship. If our hearts are thrown into turmoil when things don’t go as we hoped, it may be that we are worshiping our plans rather than the God who holds our future. True worship is found in submitting our plans to God and trusting Him with the outcomes, even when they differ from our expectations. [11:59]
• 3. Life Is a Mist—Hold Plans Loosely James reminds us that our lives are like a morning mist—brief and fragile. This reality should not lead us to despair, but to humility and dependence. Every plan, every ambition, every breath is a stewardship from God, and we are called to hold them loosely, always ready to yield to His better wisdom. [13:42]
• 4. Pride Often Masks Anxiety and Idolatry Our drive to control the future can be a mask for deeper anxieties and hidden idols—security, recognition, or self-sufficiency. When we baptize our pride in the language of “responsibility,” we risk missing the heart issue: a lack of trust in God’s goodness and sovereignty. The call is to honest self-examination and to bring even our anxieties and ambitions under the Lord’s loving authority. [27:00]
• 5. Jesus Models and Secures Our Surrender Jesus not only taught surrender to the Father’s will, He embodied it perfectly—even to the cross. Where we fail, He succeeded; where we boast, He humbled Himself. His obedience is credited to us, and His Spirit empowers us to live with open hands, daily praying, “If the Lord wills,” and trusting that God’s plans are always for our good and His glory. [30:22]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [02:25] - The Heart of Control and Family Values
• [04:00] - Presumption and the Uncertainty of Tomorrow
• [06:08] - “If the Lord Wills”: Recovering Humble Language
• [07:40] - Subtle Sins of Omission in Planning
• [09:03] - The Rhythm of Life and the Danger of Self-Sufficiency
• [09:43] - Seeking God’s Wisdom in Our Plans
• [11:59] - Worshiping God in Our Planning
• [12:45] - The Mist of Life and the Call to Submission
• [13:42] - Reading and Reflecting on James’ Words
• [15:17] - Sitting in Conviction and the Worship Principle
• [16:36] - Aligning Our Lives Under God’s Sovereignty
• [17:59] - The Evil of Boasting About the Future
• [20:17] - Sins of Omission and the Call to Surrender
• [23:29] - The World’s Script vs. God’s Sovereignty
• [24:37] - The Subtle Growth of Pride
• [27:00] - Idols of Control and the Language of Responsibility
• [29:03] - Jesus’ Example of Surrender
• [30:22] - Christ’s Obedience and Our Righteousness
• [33:06] - Walking Out Humble Dependence
• [34:19] - Practical Steps for Daily Surrender
• [36:20] - Closing Reflections and Worship

Bible Reading

James 4:13-17 (ESV) — > 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.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Observation Questions

1. According to James, what is the problem with the way some people make plans for the future? ([04:00])
2. What image does James use to describe the nature of our lives, and what does that communicate? ([13:42])
3. In verse 15, what phrase does James say we should use when talking about our plans?
4. How does James describe boasting about the future, and what does he call it? ([17:59])

Interpretation Questions

1. Why does James consider planning without reference to God’s will a form of arrogance, even if it looks responsible on the outside? ([07:40])
2. What does it mean to “worship God in your planning, not your plans,” and how can our reactions to interrupted plans reveal what we truly value? ([11:59])
3. How can the drive to control the future be a mask for deeper anxieties or hidden idols in our lives? ([27:00])
4. In what ways does Jesus model the kind of surrender James is calling us to, and why is that important for us? ([30:22])

Application Questions

1. Think about your last week: Did you make any plans without pausing to ask God for wisdom or direction? What would it look like to invite God into your planning more intentionally? ([09:43])
2. When your plans get interrupted or don’t go as expected, how do you usually respond? What does your reaction reveal about what you might be worshiping—your plans or the God who holds your future? ([11:59])
3. James says our lives are like a mist—here for a moment, then gone. How does remembering the brevity of life affect the way you approach your goals, ambitions, or even your daily schedule? ([13:42])
4. Are there areas in your life where you might be quietly sidelining God—living as if you’re in control, even if you wouldn’t say it out loud? What would it look like to bring those areas under God’s authority? ([07:40])
5. The sermon mentioned that pride can sometimes hide behind “responsibility” or “good planning.” Can you think of a time when your desire for control was really about anxiety or a need for security? How can you surrender those anxieties to God? ([27:00])
6. Jesus prayed, “Not my will, but yours be done.” Is there a specific area in your life right now where you need to pray that prayer? What’s holding you back from surrendering it? ([30:22])
7. The phrase “If the Lord wills” is more than just words—it’s a posture of the heart. How can you practically remind yourself to hold your plans with open hands this week? ([34:19])