"God willing"

If you're familiar with Middle Eastern culture, you'll have heard the phrase "Inshallah (إن شاء الله)," meaning "God willing." It's used in a variety of circumstances, but it's such a ubiquitous feature of the region that most people assume it's a strictly Muslim thing.

Yet the idea pre-dates Islam. It may come as a surprise, but the phrase "God willing" appears multiple time in English translations of the Bible. Sometimes it's "if God is willing," or "if God wills it," but the thinking is the same.

The New Living Translation uses "God willing" in three passages:

1. Acts 18:21. "As he left, however, he said, 'I will come back later, God willing.' Then he set sail from Ephesus."
2. Romans 1:10. "One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you."
3. Hebrews 6:3. "And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding."

In the Arabic Easy-to-Read Bible, Acts 18:21 is rendered like this [I put "Inshallah" in bold]:
لَكِنَّهُ قالَ وَهُوَ يُغادِرُ: «إنْ شاءَ اللهُ سَأعُودُ إلَيكُمْ.» ثُمَّ أبحَرَ مِنْ مَدِينَةِ أفَسُسَ.

As for the other two passages, my Arabic's not good enough to understand how "God willing" is translated, but I think my point is substantiated.

The apostle Paul, knowing he had little control over the situations he found himself in, took action, but understood God would work things according to his own will.

Perhaps Islam has a better understanding or acceptance of this, but the idea is at least as old as Christianity's first century.