Lord Willing

I'm supposed to be on vacation today. My family and I are supposed to be in Boston, having arrived yesterday. We are supposed to be spending a few days doing a number of tourist things that our daughter planned as part of a school assignment, then a friend of mine and I are supposed to run the Boston Marathon on Monday, and then we're supposed to come home.

Supposed to. Those were the plans, but something happened. Or, more accurately, one thing led to another in this pandemic, so that about five weeks ago the Boston Marathon was postponed to September, Lord willing.

Lord willing. That is a phrase I've encountered quite a number of times in recent months. Sometimes it has been written out, and other times is has been abbreviated as D.v. I understood from the context and the writing style used by a few particular authors that "D.v.= Lord willing," but I did an internet search to be certain, learning that D.v. is Latin for Deo volente, which the dictionary tells me means "God being willing."

Lord willing. As far as the Boston marathon goes those weren't words they appended to the announcement of a changed date. They are just the words I've added as I've thought about Boston or any number of things lately. We can make all kinds of plans. We can have all kinds of good ideas and take steps to bring them to fruition. But, ultimately, the outcome is in other hands.

Lord willing. To conclude a statement with those words could imply a number of different things. The meaning could be one of resignation. As if we're holding our hands up to signify that we have no control over the outcome. Or they could be taken to mean that everything is predetermined by God. We may do this or that but it only works out if God has pre-arranged the gears of the universe to work in our preferred way.

Or, as opposed to those two somewhat negative ways of understanding the meaning of "Lord willing," there are the ideas of trust, providence and sovereignty. I make plans and take steps to fulfill those plans, trusting that God will allow them to work out if they are actually for the best, from his point of view. Or I pursue my plans believing that God can, and will, provide for them as long as my plans are within his will. Or I pursue my plans being continually mindful of the fact that God is sovereign. He rules every part of the universe at all times. If my intent, be it to run the Boston marathon or accomplish any other thing, large or small, is in conflict with his plans for the universe, it is his plan that will carry the day, every time.

Lord willing. The other thing that comes to mind as I read that phrase in someone else's writing, or think about it being applied to my life, is that it reflects a attitude of submission in heart and mind. Submission might not be highly valued in the world at large, particularly here in the US and our ever-present desire for independence in all things, but for a Christian it is essential. If I my life as a Christian was seen as a building then one of the concrete blocks in the foundation would say, "There is a God, and it isn't me," and the block next to it would say, "Therefore I must submit to that God," and the next block would say, "Submission to God is not a bad thing, but very good and necessary."

So today, on April 15th, I'm planning to be in Boston in September to run the marathon with my friend. Lord willing. My family won't be coming, as that date causes problems for our kids and school. And given the events worldwide in the last two months, who can really predict now, with any kind of accuracy, what things may be like then?

And before that trip comes there are a number of other things our family has in mind. And things I need to do for the ministry, not the least of which is this week's main project, to preach from Zechariah 8:1-8. And all of it, from "greatest" to "least," will be Lord willing.