Deo volente

Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." – James 4v15 

I like some things that have mostly vanished from our culture. One of things has slowly faded to the point that it is rarely seen anymore. When you look at old posters and announcements, especially those in a church context, you will normally find the two letters ‘D.V.’ someplace on the document. D.V. stands for the Latin phrase Deo volente meaning ‘God willing.’ 

A couple of weeks ago applied for a part time job that would have allowed me to teach literally online at home for a couple of hours a week. From the time of the application I have ‘Lord willing’ in my heart and prayers. Despite that when I got the news yesterday that I have not even been shortlisted for the job, despite having all the qualifications they sought, I was disappointed. Not crushed mind you, but still disappointed. My will was not God’s will. 

Learning to accept God’s will as best is not easy, but it is right. It is so easy to leave Him out of our plans, hopes, and aspirations. We are so much in the way, and so convinced that we are right that we can leave him totally out of our plans.   

Our desire should be that ‘God willing’ is more than just words on our lips and ‘D.V.’ is more than just letters on a page. Our desire should be that ‘Lord willing’ in the motto on our hearts.