The following little story conveys a very important truth. Two very good friends were having a telephone conversation when one said: “I am really longing to see you again soon and, God willing, will visit you on Tuesday evening. If anything unexpected happens to prevent me from coming on Tuesday, I will definitely be there on Wednesday.” DV – Deo Volente – God willing. I grew up hearing these words every day. One felt kind of guilty if you did not say “God willing”, as if God would hold it against you if you don’t say it. Nowadays, one very seldom hears someone saying it.

 

God will, most probably, not hold it against you, but you should hold it against yourself if you do not include him in your planning. If we do not include him in our planning, it tells a lot about what we believe about him and how important he is in our lives.

 

Whenever I read Proverbs, I am surprised by how perfectly well the author chose his words to bring something to light. Never “boast” about what you are going to do the next day. Boast means to brag about what you are going to do the next day, without knowing if the next day will ever arrive. In the end, it means to have a very high opinion of your own abilities, without considering that all you have and all you are comes from God.

 

This is such an important matter that we read about it in many places in the Bible. In the letter of James (4:13-17), we see an explanation of the matter. Like the author of Proverbs, James reminds his readers in verse 15: “What you should say is this: ‘If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.’” DV is, after all, very important in the life of every child of God.

 

Prayer: Lord, thank you that we can say “God willing” and really believe what we are saying. Amen