Cultivate Church
Trust God With Your Tomorrow
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      • James 4:13–17ESV

  • Tomorrow is uncertain Life is short God is sovereign

    Never exclude God from the planning of your life

    We should trust God with our future by obeying Him today.

    Tomorrow is Uncertain

    James 4:13–14 ESV
    13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
    James begins with a picture that feels very familiar.
    “Today or tomorrow we will go into this city, spend a year there, do business and make a profit.”
    Listen to how confident that sounds.
    They’ve got it all figured out:
    the day decided
    the destination chosen
    the duration planned
    the deal arranged
    the dollars expected

    There’s nothing wrong with planning your life

    The problem is God is completely missing from the plan.
    They talk about where they’re going… what they’re doing… how long they’ll stay… how much they’ll make…

    Is there true dependence on God in your life?

    Then James says something that humbles all of us.
    “You do not know what tomorrow will bring.”
    We talk like tomorrow is guaranteed.
    But the truth is:
    We don’t know what tomorrow holds
    We don’t know what tomorrow brings
    We don’t even know if tomorrow comes
    Proverbs 27:1 ESV
    1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
    James is reminding us of something we often forget: Tomorrow is uncertain.

    Because tomorrow is uncertain, the safest place to put our future is in the hands of God.

    Life is Short

    James 4:14 ESV
    14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
    Then James asks a question that makes us stop and think.

    “What is your life?”

    And then he answers it.

    “You are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

    James says life is like a vapor.
    Think about:
    morning fog that disappears when the sun rises
    breath on a cold day that fades in seconds
    steam rising off a cup of coffee
    It’s there…
    and then it’s gone.

    The Bible describes life over and over again as: a mist, a shadow, grass that withers

    Not because life is meaningless…
    but because life is brief.
    We often live like we have unlimited time.
    But James reminds us:

    Life moves faster than we think.

    And if life is short, we shouldn’t spend it
    chasing control
    worrying about tomorrow
    putting off obedience

    We should spend life trusting God with every day He gives us.

    God is Sovereign

    James 4:15–16 ESV
    15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
    After reminding us that tomorrow is uncertain and life is short, James points us to the truth that gives us peace.

    “If the Lord wills”

    It reminds us that:

    God holds tomorrow God directs our steps God determines our days

    We still make plans. But we make plans with open hands.

    Instead of saying,
    “This is exactly how my future will go.”
    We say,

    “Lord, here are my plans… but Your will matters more than mine.”

    That’s what it means to trust God with your tomorrow.
    Not that we stop planning.
    But that we stop pretending we’re the ones in control.
    Because the truth is:
    Tomorrow is uncertain
    Life is short
    But God is sovereign
    And if God is sovereign…

    Our future is far safer in His hands than in ours

    James 4:17 ESV
    17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
    James ends with something incredibly practical.
    In other words:
    The issue isn’t tomorrow.
    The issue is today.
    Since:
    tomorrow is uncertain
    life is short
    and God is sovereign
    The question becomes:

    What is God calling you to do today?

    Is it:
    to trust Him?
    to surrender something?
    to repent?
    to follow Him more closely?

    The best way to trust God with tomorrow is to obey Him today.

      • James 4:13–14ESV

      • Proverbs 27:1ESV

      • James 4:14ESV

      • James 4:15–16ESV

      • James 4:17ESV

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