My journey of personal observations which I have made over the years to apply Bible reading in my life.
James 4:13-15 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” – 14 yet 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. 15 Instead you ought to say,” If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
Observation
James admonishes against the sin of worldliness and is speaking specifically to a certain kind of behavior that people fall into, or find themselves participating in or misguidedly see as the right way to act. It becomes part of the culture and as such dominates the thinking and the lives of many who live within it, including Christians
Application in my life
So our american culture has many Christian aspects to it as it has matured over the years. Christianity has always played a part, however, many people have distorted both the culture and the religion. What I get from this discussion is the idea expressed as Balanced Living. For example, planning and goal setting are good things to do in the proper situation. But what this verse reminds me of is where God fits into all that planning and goal setting. I want to strike the right balance in my life so that I do not plan God out of it. I used to work so much that I did not have time for church. How did that plan work for me?
I like to remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr who was leading a great cultural movement and died before the movement reached the point of changing American institutions. So he understood the concept of “If the Lord wills, we will live to do this or that.” And  he understood that he was a mist that appeared for a little time and then vanished. But the work can continue on with others who follow the same paths. For me it is summed up in the statement ‘redeem the time’.
My prayer
Lord if You will, let me redeem the time that I have to do the things that You direct me, that You place on my heart and are providing the spiritual force to accomplish. Let me lead a balanced life that places You at the center, and my family around the center, Amen