Life is full of surprisessome of which take life in unwelcome directions. I still remember the shockwave that hit our family several decades ago when my father lost his job through no fault of his own. With a house full of kids to feed, it was a jarring blow. But as certainly as Dads job loss was beyond his control and unexpected, he still knew he could trust God for his future.
As Jesus followers, we must recognize that there are things in life that are the uncontrollable unexpected, as I call them. To help us in those moments, James 4:13-15 offers this wisdom: 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; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. . . . Instead you ought to say, If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that. The people to whom James was writing were making plans while excluding Gods prerogative to direct their lives.
Is it wrong to plan for the future? Of course not. It is unwise, however, to forget that God may allow some uncontrollable unexpected events as He sees fit. Ultimately, all that happens is for the besteven when its hard to see. We must trust Him and His plans for our future.
Read: James 4:13-17