in His hands (i)

thanking God for His Word through the equip conference. it was faithful and refreshing. this year, the book of James was concluded. we learnt from james 4:13-5:20. thought i'd like to share on my notes on one of the two main talks at the moment. besides, it's good also for me as i try to re-write and tidy things up, i have the opportunities to digest further and reflect on His living Word.

the passage above mainly talks about being patience with the key verse being, 5:7 - be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming.

1. the fairytale life.. happily every after

we all want to live out our fairytale life, that one dream of a perfect life that's full of the very best things in life - perhaps that second-to-none lifestyle, that perfect husband/wife, that excellent career, etc. but in reality, life isn't as simple as wishing it may be. indeed, life is one often full of unfulfilled expectations, needless to say full of frustration at times. we never seem to get it right!

"whatever your goal, you can get there if you're willing to work." - Oprah

"what this day says to Australian women and to Australian girls is that you can do anything, you can be anything." - Quentin Bryce

"hold on! we're headed for a better life." - Keith Urban

2. the fairlytale life.. in our hands?

- it's impossible (4:13-17)

no matter how hard we try, fairytale life is impossible!

firstly, we don't even know what will happen tomorrow (v14-15). james wasn't anti plans, we indeed need plans to be responsible over the resources that God has placed on our hands. it is rather that none of our plans are guaranteed! our plans are not in our hands to start with. we ought instead to be humble of our plans and have a reverence to God who has everything in His hands.

"i could start by confidently outlining the prospects for the US economy, the world economy and the Australian economy, then go on to explain the implications for the sharemarket and the property market.. instead, i want to say something much more valuable to you - nobody, but nobody, knows what the future holds for the economy and markets. since the future is unknowable, you should proceed with humility and caution" - Ross Gittins

- it testifies against us (5:1-6)

secondly, if we pursue it, in the end, it will testify against us! unlike a fairytale start, it will all end up a fairytale ending, we'll all meet God's judgement. james used strong languages throughout his warnings of the rich who live life as they pleased without any reverence to God.