"See You Next Week...'Lord Willing'..."

Why would someone say, “Lord willing” before or after telling their vacation plans, or meeting up with friends, or in reference to the next worship service? Are these things God’s will? Are they opposed to God’s will? Do we need to ask God’s permission before doing anything?

So, why would a person say, “Lord willing,” and when does it make sense?

Did you know that this practice is rooted in scripture?

Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that.”

— James 4:15

Does this passage teach that we must always attach the phrase, “If the Lord wills” to our future plans? Or does it mean that we need to acknowledge that we can really do nothing unless God ‘wills’ it? What does it teach?

First, remember how Jesus rebuked the hypocritical Pharisees for empty, external forms of religion? From that we learn that God desires a response from the heart. So, there is no benefit in saying words, “If the Lord wills” unless we do so with understanding and sincerity of heart.

Next, let’s consider the broader context of the verse quoted above.

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that." But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 

 — James 4:13-16

Is James teaching that telling one’s plans is boasting?

The key to understanding this passage is found in the preceding verse. In verse 12 James states that no one really knows what tomorrow will bring. More specifically, no one really knows whether they will live tomorrow. To make future plans without acknowledging this uncertainty is arrogant. A failure to acknowledge the uncertainty of life is a failure to acknowledge our Creator who gives us breath. James correctly calls such arrogance evil.

Telling one’s plans is not boastful. After all, God allows us to make choices in all areas of life. It is not boastful to choose to move to another city, engage in business, choose a career, choose a college, choose a mate, etc. However, we must realize that life itself is essential for carrying out one’s plans; and God is in control of life. He is the one who gives breath.

These verses are not about our future plans as much as they are about our acknowledgement of the One who gives life. So, the phrase “Lord willing” is really incomplete by itself. Stated fully and more accurately: “If the Lord wills, we shall live.” Then, if we have been given life by our Creator, it is our plan to do this or do that.

I don’t think God was making an arbitrary rule that we need to regurgitate a specific phrase. Yet, sincerely acknowledging God as Creator and Giver of life will keep us from the evil of boasting about things that are out of our control. At the same time, we will be reminding ourselves of our daily dependence on God.

Our lives are in His hands.

Mark Stinnett

March 31, 2024