James 4:13-17 "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"

It has to be one of the most annoying interview questions, and yet we still hear it time, after time, after time! "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"

You'd think by now, with the pace of technology, that a more fitting question would be focused on a range of about a year. In a time where most people will change careers 5 - 7 times during their lives, and 1/3 will change jobs every 12 months [reference], a year seems like a great time frame to aim for.

But, upon reflection, even this may be too far reaching. Let's look at what James has to say on the matter of forward planning:

James 4:13-17

Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

Here we see that even tomorrow is not something we can plan for too accurately. Brethren churches, when reading notices, will say something akin to this; "On Tuesday, God willing, the mother's group will meet at..." That bit in bold? That's where James is taken into account.

I think this could make it easy to sit back and let life happen; To not plan and go where you're blown by the winds of change. Or go nowhere.

But that doesn't seem to be the point of this passage. Rather, I feel, it is a call to acknowledge God in ALL we do, ALL we say and ALL we plan. We are here through His grace and, hopefully, are trying to live by His example to us. Jesus Himself only took actions that God had ordained for Him to take.

For some us the jobs we have and the places we know may seem a bit old and stuffy, but if we allow ourselves to see them as God's plan for us, would that buff out some of the rust and clear the cobwebs?

Do you leave room for God to direct you? Has God changed your plans in an amazing way? I'd love to hear about them in the comments or on social media and, God willing, I'll be back next week with Your Monday Message.