Introduction
Are you humble enough to let God rewrite your calendar, redraw your map, and interrupt your “perfect plan”? The central teaching of James 4:13–17 is that disciples of Jesus must practice humility not only with people, but with our plans, because presumptuous planning is a subtle form of pride, and God calls us to submit every “next step” to His will. James is “gospel on the ground.” It’s not just truth to admire; it’s wisdom to live. Last week we practiced humility in relationships (refusing judgment and choosing love). This week James confronts another huge arena where pride quietly takes over: the way I plan my future.
Main Points
Are you humble enough to let God rewrite your calendar, redraw your map, and interrupt your “perfect plan”? The central teaching of James 4:13–17 is that disciples of Jesus must practice humility not only with people, but with our plans, because presumptuous planning is a subtle form of pride, and God calls us to submit every “next step” to His will.
James is “gospel on the ground.” It’s not just truth to admire; it’s wisdom to live. Last week we practiced humility in relationships (refusing judgment and choosing love). This week James confronts another huge arena where pride quietly takes over: the way I plan my future.
Humility Is Where God Lifts Us
James 4:10 sets the theme: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” If I want God’s hand on my life, His direction, His blessing, His power, I don’t get there by self-exaltation. I get there by humble submission.
That’s why this matters: planning is not neutral ground. I can make plans in faith, or I can make plans as a way of taking my life back from God, trying to lift myself up instead of trusting Him to lift me up.
The Parable Of Presumptuous Planning
James tells a little story that functions like a parable:
“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’…” (James 4:13)
Then he warns us what’s underneath it:
“But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.” (James 4:16)
Presumption is when I treat uncertain things as if they’re guaranteed, then I build my whole life on them. James exposes four presumptions that can quietly turn planning into arrogance.
Presuming Upon Time: “Today Or Tomorrow”
The first presumption is time: I decide when.
James quotes them: “Today or tomorrow…” (James 4:13). That sounds normal, until it becomes a posture that says, “My timetable rules.”
I want you to see two common discipleship struggles here:
- “Today people”: you move fast, want it now, and your danger is impatience, even forcing God’s hand. Abraham’s story warns us here: God promised a son, but when the promise felt slow, human solutions replaced humble trust (see Genesis 16). When we push ahead without God, we often multiply trouble instead of receiving God’s miracle.
- “Tomorrow people”: you mean well, but you delay, and your danger is procrastination. You assume tomorrow will be there when you’re ready. This becomes spiritually dangerous when God convicts you today, to repent, reconcile, reorder your habits, seek Him, and you say, “Soon… just not now.”
Even our relationships reveal this collision: the impatient and the procrastinator clash. And beneath that clash is a deeper issue: God says “wait,” and I say “now.” God says “now,” and I say “later.” The presumption is that I call the shots.
Presuming Upon Boundaries: “Such And Such A City”
Next is the presumption of boundaries: I decide where.
“We will go into such and such a town…” (James 4:13). In our modern world, it’s easy to assume we can go anywhere, do anything, redefine everything. But Scripture teaches that God appoints boundaries and seasons.
Jesus hints at this in the prodigal son story: the son gathers everything and goes to a “far country” (Luke 15:13). That detail matters. It’s a picture of a heart that treats distance from the father as freedom, until it becomes destruction. The lesson isn’t merely about geography; it’s about the boundaries of the soul.
Sin, at its core, is often the desire to overcome creaturely limits. We hear it as early as Genesis 3: “Did God actually say…?”, challenging God’s boundary as if it were unreasonable. Humility says, “Lord, place me where You want me, keep me where You want me, and restrain my heart from wandering beyond Your ways.”
Presuming Upon Duration: “Spend A Year There”
Third is the presumption of duration: I decide how long.
“Spend a year there…” (James 4:13). We do this constantly: “I’ll give it a year. I’ll give it three months. I’ll give it a season.” Sometimes that’s wise, unless my time frame becomes a condition I place on obedience.
This is where many of us unknowingly bargain with God: “Lord, I’ll seek You… for a little while.” “I’ll serve… for a little while.” “I’ll obey… until I feel stable again.”
But God doesn’t want a temporary slice of me. He wants me. Short-term commitments can hide a long-term refusal to surrender. Whether it’s spiritual habits, ministry faithfulness, or freedom from sin, the danger is thinking, “Once I reach my goal, I’m done.” That’s how people crash after “successful” seasons, because they trained themselves to obey for a time frame, not for a lifetime.
Presuming Upon Provision: “Make A Profit”
Fourth is the presumption of provision: I decide how I’ll be taken care of.
“…trade and make a profit.” (James 4:13). It can sound responsible, even God-honoring. And yes, God often provides through work, wisdom, and opportunity. But James is exposing the heart that says, “Once I secure enough profit, then I’ll truly serve God.”
Let me press this question into your heart: Who provides for your life? Because whoever you believe provides for you is whoever you’ll treat as Lord.
There’s also another layer: our plans for profit assume outcomes we cannot control. Markets change. jobs disappear. health collapses. life turns fast. Many of us have lived long enough to say, “I didn’t expect it, but it happened.” That’s James’s point: arrogant planning isn’t merely optimistic; it’s spiritually blind.
Submitting Plans Without Quitting Planning
James is not commanding, “Never plan.” He’s confronting presumption, planning that ignores God, exalts self, and treats the future like it belongs to me.
The humble disciple plans differently:
- I plan under God’s authority, not above it.
- I hold my plans with open hands, not clenched fists.
- I obey God’s conviction today, not “someday.”
- I pursue provision as stewardship, not self-salvation.
And James gives us the sobering conclusion a few verses later: if I know the right thing to do and refuse to do it, that’s sin (James 4:17). Delayed obedience and self-directed planning are not “personality quirks”; they can be disobedience.
Conclusion
James calls me to humility on the ground, where I actually live. Last week that meant humility with people. This week it means humility with my plans.
So I want you to hear this as gentle, loving discipleship: make your plans, but don’t worship them. Work hard, but don’t treat profit as your savior. Set goals, but don’t put God on a clock. Choose paths, but don’t cross God’s boundaries.
Humble yourself before the Lord, and He will lift you up (James 4:10). The safest place for your future is not in your control, it’s under God’s hand.
Father, we confess how easily we presume upon time, boundaries, duration, and provision. Forgive us for boasting in arrogance, making plans as if we are in control and as if tomorrow is guaranteed. Teach us to humble ourselves before You. Give us patience where we demand “today,” and give us urgency where we hide behind “tomorrow.” Help us obey what You’ve already shown us, and submit every plan to Your will. Lift us up in Your way and in Your time, for Your glory and our joy. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Conclusion
James calls me to humility on the ground, where I actually live. Last week that meant humility with people. This week it means humility with my plans.
So I want you to hear this as gentle, loving discipleship: make your plans, but don’t worship them. Work hard, but don’t treat profit as your savior. Set goals, but don’t put God on a clock. Choose paths, but don’t cross God’s boundaries.
Humble yourself before the Lord, and He will lift you up (James 4:10). The safest place for your future is not in your control, it’s under God’s hand.
Closing Prayer
Father, we confess how easily we presume upon time, boundaries, duration, and provision. Forgive us for boasting in arrogance, making plans as if we are in control and as if tomorrow is guaranteed. Teach us to humble ourselves before You. Give us patience where we demand “today,” and give us urgency where we hide behind “tomorrow.” Help us obey what You’ve already shown us, and submit every plan to Your will. Lift us up in Your way and in Your time, for Your glory and our joy. In Jesus’ name, amen.