IF THE LORD WILLS

“If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that…”
James 4:15


Saying “If the Lord wills” is not only a mere religious expression that wishes for good things to happen . . . it is a declaration of total dependence on God and total distrust to self. Many people can say “If the Lord wills” for many reasons, however, there should only be one reason for saying and living this . . . the desire to Honor God! This is the kind of life the church should also live. Our good planning without consulting God becomes arrogant and evil in His sight. “If the Lord wills” . . . invites us to take time to wait in prayer and when things are clear, it prompts us to obedience.

Can God interrupt your plans? Yes. It is here that we bow down to God especially in the most irritating interruptions that He might allow. God’s ‘HOLY CHAOS’ destroys our sense of false order and false security. Self-centered order is actually subtle chaos, while the seeming “disorder” from God ultimately produces holy calm. The bible is full of stories on how God’s chaos intervened and made His ways known to us. Up to what point can God intervene in your plans? This can be so invasive—leaving no room for our privacy. When God destroys our plans, only then can He fill us with Himself!

In the long run, living the lifestyle of surrender to God’s holy chaos ultimately produces the true holy order that we need. Instead of fear, this is a journey of faith and an endless humbling experience of seeing how our ways are so foolish. It invites us to worship and lessens our worries; intensifies prayer and simplifies faith! A mysterious and yet sacred route to freedom is first to be liberated from our addiction to control and turn this into our devotion to obey God! Whenever you say “If the Lord wills,” welcome God’s holy interruptions into your very ordered life!

Prayerfully,

REV. ARNEL TAN