Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” ~James 4:13-15

The above words have never been truer for so many of us. Prior to a worldwide pandemic, we were accustomed to being masterful planners. The inability to decide what we will do, beyond today, has been unsettling for most. Yet, what manifold gifts God is giving us during this unique time in history. We are being tested in the areas of relinquishing our agendas, contentment, and the acceptance of ongoing uncertainty.

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Never before have we had to grapple, so extensively, with the fundamental truth that we are not in control. The Author of Life, God, has established the particulars of our days. While we may have the best laid plans, it is God who will ultimately determine our course. Our inclination is to rebuff the notion of renouncing our plan, our timetable, what we think is best. Yet, I am confronted with the core truth that in surrender, I will assuredly find freedom. I am discovering when I adhere to the fallacy of what I desire being preeminent, I am limited by human confines and left wanting.

Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’S purpose that prevails. ~Proverbs 19:21

To embrace God’s will, above all else, with timetables I don’t enjoy and unceasing uncertainty, is counterintuitive. Yet, Jesus embodies the supreme example of openhandedness with His very life. In agony, He plead with God while entrusting Himself entirely to His Father, as He faced imminent death.

Going a little further, He fell with His face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” ~Matthew 26:39

A grave fear I have is for this rare time in our lives to be all for naught. I believe God has jolted mankind to gain our attention. Let us grab hold of the many lessons He is teaching us.

However, this great gift that our soul should receive is allowed to pass by us because of our sleepy indifference, and ultimately nothing comes of it. ~Tauler

May we combat indifference and embody teachability. To embrace surrender, contentment in any and all situations, and to accept God’s will, in whatever form it may take, will produce calm. We will taste the very peace we have always longed for; the peace that has often eluded us.

But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations. ~Psalm 33:11

Susie Smith resides in Lincoln, Virginia. She believes wholeheartedly in a God who is able to transform every one of us by bringing light to our darkness and freedom through redemption.

You can visit her blog at: thesmithsjs.wordpress.com