Posted on 09/27/2020 7:22:49 AM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress
“Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1 KJV).
TODAY’S VERSE:
“Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1 KJV).
When reading our New Testament, it is not unusual to come across a verse that is directly pulled from the Old Testament. Sometimes they are word-for-word, but often they clearly repeat the principle. Such is the case with this verse, found in James: “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil” (James 4:13-16 KJV).
What was the result of the rich man’s boasting of his bigger barns and iron-clad retirement program? He was so proud of his accomplishments, and his amassed fortune that he had provided for himself—obviously without acknowledging God in any of it? Not good, “But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:20-21 KJV) He was counting on his tomorrows when he didn’t even have a tomorrow.
You will never have today back. Who should you show kindness to in case there is no tomorrow? Who should you forgive? Who should you thank? Who should you comfort? Above all, what can, or should you give God today in confession, praise, or conduct to honor Him?
In the verse quoted from James, four words should stand out in their extreme wisdom, “if the Lord will.” Lord willing, we shall do this or that. Lord willing, we shall live another day. Lord willing, we will do something that will please Him and affect eternity either for ourselves or for another. Lord willing, we will share the Gospel of good news to a lost and dying world!
We are all given a free will to choose what we wish, but how great a gift when we subject that will to Another that is a much better steward of our time and talents. It has been said that salvation is God’s gift to us, but what we do with that life is our gift to God. It is our life to give back to God, it is ours “to work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling,” that is, to be what God saved us to be. And it is true with this as with our money, we can never outgive the Lord.
Jesus said, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6:34). What precious wisdom! Do not worry about tomorrow. It will take care of itself. You have enough evil today to keep you busy.
Fools plan on getting right with God tomorrow, but that day never comes. There are always more excuses. Felix, trembling under Paul’s preaching, told him, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee” (Acts 24:25). It never came. You have today to be godly and wise – do not presume on having any other day.
The question, therefore, is what will you do for God tomorrow? It is, what are you doing for God today?
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