{"id":199,"date":"2025-08-01T01:34:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T01:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joc.lukegbrown.com\/?p=199"},"modified":"2025-08-01T01:34:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T01:34:07","slug":"our-momentary-lives-in-the-hands-of-an-eternal-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joc.lukegbrown.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/01\/our-momentary-lives-in-the-hands-of-an-eternal-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Momentary Lives in the Hands of an Eternal God"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Here for a Little While: Our Momentary Lives in the Hands of the Eternal God. James 4:13-17\" width=\"880\" height=\"495\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/11BPnfeI2vM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Sermon Excerpt from James 4:13-17<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCome now, you who say, \u2018Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit\u2019\u2014yet 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.\u201d (vv.13\u201314)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the very Word that opened my eyes in the pit of grief and guilt-driven depression. Because James isn\u2019t just giving us a reminder here\u2014he\u2019s giving us a wake-up call. Our lives are momentary. Our breaths are borrowed. And we are not guaranteed another one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But he\u2019s not alone in saying that. His brother Jesus said something similar: \u201cTherefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.\u201d (Matthew 6:34)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that\u2019s an odd sentence if you think about it. What does it mean for tomorrow to be anxious for itself? Why is that the reason not to be anxious about tomorrow? Well, let me propose two reasons, both of which can be true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, tomorrow is anxious for itself because tomorrow has its own troubles\u2014just like today has its own troubles. And that means you and I don\u2019t have the strength to carry tomorrow\u2019s weight today. As Corrie Ten Boom once said, \u201cWorry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.\u201d Don\u2019t waste today\u2019s grace worrying about tomorrow\u2019s battles. Because here\u2019s the good news\u2014even though sin brings trouble into today, God brings mercy into today. He brings grace into today. He brings strength into today. You\u2019ve been given what you need for this day. So use it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, tomorrow is anxious for itself because tomorrow might not come. James says it plain: \u201cYou do not know what tomorrow will bring.\u201d And he\u2019s right. You don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t know. Your life is a mist. A vapor. You didn\u2019t decide when to arrive here. And you won\u2019t get to decide when you leave. So don\u2019t boast in tomorrow\u2014you may not have it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I know that might make some of you even more anxious, but listen to me: if that scares you, it\u2019s probably because you\u2019ve spent more time looking forward than looking around. You\u2019re always focused on what\u2019s next, and never on what\u2019s now. But there\u2019s a reason God didn\u2019t make you able to travel through time\u2014because He wants you to live in the time He gave you. He put you in this moment, on this day, right where you are for a reason. You\u2019re not here to wait until later. You\u2019re here to obey Him now. So stop worrying about the possibility of tomorrow and start worshiping God with the reality of today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cInstead you ought to say, \u2018If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.\u2019\u201d (v.15)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the verse that pulled me out of the pit. Because verse 15 confronts us with a reality most people don\u2019t want to admit\u2014and even fewer want to submit to. It\u2019s the Sovereignty of God. It\u2019s that hard but glorious truth that you are not your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Paul puts it bluntly in 1 Corinthians 6:19\u201320: \u201cYou are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.\u201d In other words, you don\u2019t belong to yourself. You don\u2019t own your life. You don\u2019t run your schedule. You are not the master of your fate. Even if it looks like you\u2019re making the decisions, the truth is this: you are where you are because God willed that you be there. You planned it? Sure. You drove here? Of course. But why did your heart keep beating while you were driving? Why did you wake up this morning? Because God said so. That\u2019s it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>James says, \u201cYou ought to say, \u2018If the Lord wills.\u2019\u201d Not if I will. Not if I choose. If the Lord wills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If He commands the waves and the sea, if He speaks to planets and stars and they obey, what makes you think your lungs work without His permission? What makes you think you\u2019re the only thing in the universe not under His control? No, beloved. He is sovereign over you. Over your body. Over your breath. Over your calendar. And that\u2019s not bad news. That\u2019s good news. Because the One who holds your life is the same One who gave His life for you. You are not your own, because you were bought. And not with silver or gold\u2014but with blood. With the blood of Christ. \u201cFor God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son\u2026\u201d (John 3:16). \u201cHe who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all\u2026\u201d (Romans 8:32). \u201cHe Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree\u2026\u201d (1 Peter 2:24). You were purchased. And the price was precious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So maybe tomorrow isn\u2019t guaranteed. That\u2019s okay. Because you\u2019ve been given something better than tomorrow. You\u2019ve been given eternal life. And that\u2019s a promise more secure than anything this world can offer. You don\u2019t need tomorrow when you\u2019ve got eternity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.\u201d (vv.16\u201317)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the last lesson. God opened my eyes through the truth that life is short. He pulled me out of despair by showing me that my life is not my own. And now, He motivates me day by day with this truth: my momentary life is meant to be spent serving Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is far too often that far too many of us believe the lie that we have to be perfect before we can obey. That we have to have it all together before we can serve. That\u2019s nonsense. God didn\u2019t save you to sit still.&nbsp; He didn\u2019t save you so that you could live for yourself by living your best life the way you sinfully desire without fear of repercussion, nor did He wait until you had it all together before He called you! He bought your momentary life, while you were yet a sinner, with an eternal price so that you could live it for His eternal purpose!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, beloved, obey Him. Proclaim Him. Share the Word. Love the hurting. Preach the gospel. And trust Him to do the saving because in the field of life, you don\u2019t grow the vines! You just plant the seeds, instead God grows the vines because faith comes by hearing, and hearing the Word of Christ. Not by hearing a good argument. Not by listening to a slick presentation. But by the power of the Living Word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Therefore, don\u2019t waste your mist. Spend your momentary life for the eternal King. Don\u2019t fear tomorrow. Trust the One who holds it firmly in His pierced hands! And do not live for yourself. Live for the One who bought you&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Grace be with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sermon Excerpt from James 4:13-17 \u201cCome now, you who say, \u2018Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/joc.lukegbrown.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/01\/our-momentary-lives-in-the-hands-of-an-eternal-god\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Our Momentary Lives in the Hands of an Eternal God<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joc.lukegbrown.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joc.lukegbrown.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joc.lukegbrown.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joc.lukegbrown.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joc.lukegbrown.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/joc.lukegbrown.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":200,"href":"https:\/\/joc.lukegbrown.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199\/revisions\/200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joc.lukegbrown.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joc.lukegbrown.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joc.lukegbrown.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}