Well, I didn’t intend to mislead you. But I’m still here. My team did not travel to Haiti this past weekend. Due to political unrests and protests in that country, the U.S. State Department strongly advised no travel, so we have postponed our trip.

I admit to a mixture of emotions over those events. First, there was disappointment. I’ve been to Haiti four times now. I’ve grown to know and love a group of pastors there. I hate that I am not with them today as I write these words. And yet there was relief as we came to realize that it was not the right time to go.

I am as guilty as anyone. I presume on tomorrow - and the next day, and the next year. I plan for my vacation. I plan to go and see my dad or my sons. For many years I have planned (that basically means I have placed money in an account) for retirement. And there is nothing wrong with making plans.

The problem is with presumption. When we presume, we act as if we are in control. We live as if we can decide what we will do at any point in time. We answer to no one. But the Bible has something to say about that.

In Ecclesiastes 9:12 we read, “Man knows not his time.” And in James 4:13-15 we are warned about our attitude in planning. Instead of saying, “Tomorrow I will go into such-and-such a town,” I should rather say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

You might consider it a minor difference. But I am convinced it is bigger than that. When I presume I am discounting (or even denying) that God is over all. I am placing myself on the throne. And I do not belong there.

We have rescheduled our trip for April. I expect that we will be able to go. But I’m still learning that I should not presume. “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and do not lean your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths,” (Proverbs 3:5-6, ESV).