神若願意
雅各書四章11至17節
11弟兄們，你們不可彼此批評。人若批評弟兄，論斷弟兄，就是批評律法，論斷律法。你若論斷律法，就不是遵行律法，乃是判斷人的。
12設立律法和判斷人的，只有一位，就是那能救人也能滅人的。你是誰，竟敢論斷別人呢？
13嗐！你們有話說：「今天明天我們要往某城裡去，在那裡住一年，做買賣得利。」
14其實明天如何，你們還不知道。你們的生命是甚麼呢？你們原來是一片雲霧，出現少時就不見了。
15你們只當說：「主若願意，我們就可以活著，也可以做這事，或做那事。」
16現今你們竟以張狂誇口；凡這樣誇口都是惡的。
17人若知道行善，卻不去行，這就是他的罪了。
信息分享
你對明天發生的事，究竟有多大把握呢？為未來計劃，是我們生活的一部分；很多人都習慣把明天要做的工作仔細列出來，以免有任何遺漏。預先計劃雖然是好事，可是，我們卻必須緊記，我們的生命是掌握在神的手中。神的計劃，可能有別於我們的計劃，即使是今天發生的事，也可能會出乎我們的意料之外。當我們發現我們的計劃行不通的時候，我們究竟是否願意跟從神的帶領？
雅各在這裡是要指出，信徒若只是我行我素地議定未來的計劃，完全沒有考慮到神的心意，那麼，他就根本就與世俗的人無異。箴言三章5至6節教導我們，屬神的人應該：「專心仰賴耶和華，不可倚靠自己的聰明，在你一切所行的事上，都要認定他，他必指引你的路。」
雅各不是叫我們不可為未來計劃，他只是提醒我們，我們在構想任何計劃的時候，都應該尋求神的心意，並且謙卑地祈求祂的帶領；故此，當計劃受阻或需要作出改變時，我們便以一顆順服的心，去接受神的心意。其實，我們在計劃的一開始，就尋求神的帶領和賜福，豈不是更能安心地去實行計劃嗎？
最後，雅各指出，基督徒往往知道甚麼是該作的，可是，卻沒有去作，這就是罪。雅各的指責非常嚴厲，然而，他是在聖靈的感動下寫下這句話的，所以，這句話便是真理。換言之，無論我們作甚麼，或不作甚麼，最重要是遵行神的心意。人生在世，轉瞬即逝，遵行神的旨意，就是永生之道。
反思：
神說過：「我必時常引導你，在乾旱之地，使你心滿意足。」（以賽亞書五十八章11節）
IF THE LORD WILLS
James 4:11-17
11 Do not speak evil of one another, brethren.He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law.But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
12 There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy.Who are you to judge another?
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”;
14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow.For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”
16 But now you boast in your arrogance.All such boasting is evil.
17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Message
How much do you know about what will happen tomorrow? We sometimes make a list of the things we are going to do tomorrow. While it is good to plan ahead, we need to remember that as Christians our lives are in God's hands. What he has planned for us, even for today, may be very different from what we have thought about. Are we willing to let God have this way today?
James says we are just like the world if we make our plans and leave God out of them. Proverbs 3:5, 6, tells us what a Christian should do. 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.'
Isn't it easy to make our own plans and then ask God to bless them? Wouldn't it be better to quietly ask God to guide us in the making of those plans. Then we must be ready to have our plans changed or interrupted if that is what God wants at any point in our day or in our lives?
James says in the last verse of this chapter that a Christian very often know what he ought to do, but doesn't do it. That is sin. Those are strong words, but James is speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. Therefore what he says is absolutely true, now and always. Life is short. While we live here on earth, the most important thing in our lives ought to be the will of God.
A THOUGHT:
God says, 'I will always guide you and satisfy you with good things.'(Isaiah 58:11)