James 4:15
Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.”
What it says
Proper speech about the future submits plans to the Lord's will.
What it is doing
This verse provides the humble alternative to boastful certainty.
In context
13Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.” 14You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.” 16As it is, you boast in your proud intentions. All such boasting is evil. 17Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.