Making Plans

James 4:13-16 (NIV)   ¹³  Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." ¹⁴  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵  Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." ¹⁶  As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.

            One of the things we will be doing at our upcoming Leader Retreat is looking forward at the future. We will do this in the short term (the 2016-17 school year) and the long term (next 2-5 years). We will be fairly detailed in the short term plan and a bit broader in the long term as we think and pray about the direction(s) the Lord wants our church to go. Organizationally, we will be doing things that many organizations do as they evaluate their health and future. Spiritually we will be placing it all in the hands of the Lord.

            As individuals we often set goals for life. We have dreams. We have hopes. We make plans. The further we are from the future we are considering, the “looser” grip we can have on plans. So many things can change in life, and the plans we do make need continual adjustment. Making plans for a nearer future (usually measured in weeks and months) helps to sharpen goals for any number of things we would like to accomplish. And then there are day-to-day plans that guide our lives. Although I have lots of technology in my life, a simple, small yellow pad works best for me. On this pad I make lists, especially related to work matters that need my attention. These lists are quite helpful in reminding me of what I need to remember. I know this method isn’t for everyone, but it works well for me.

            All of these things – the stuff and the methods we use to organize our lives and (in the case of our church) our common ministry and life together – are all well and good. They help us get things done, hopefully efficiently and effectively. Yet I always try to keep in mind that all of my plans, from the smallest to the greatest, are always 100% in the Lord’s hands. Throughout history men and women have had many great intentions and grand plans for their lives, families, and even nations… only to see them go completely awry… or, sadly, never to see them at all due to arrival of the end of their lives. The proud man believes his future is in his own hands. The humble man rests in the Lord and places his future in His hands. The Scriptures are full of occasions when man’s way and the Lord’s way were very different. Unregenerate man is oblivious to the Lord. His great failure is to not recognize even the existence of God, let alone submit his future to the will of a personal God who is Lord of all. But God’s people must also use care… that we do not presume upon the will of our Lord. I believe it is wise to make plans, but unwise to not take the Lord into consideration when making them. Do our plans in life take us out of God’s will (not allowing for time with the Lord, study of the Word, or gathering with our fellow believers, for example)? Should we not question such plans and be careful to be discerning about leaving the Lord out of our plans? Do we make plans without prayer or an attitude of submitting ourselves and our plans to God’s gracious will? Should we not give more care to avoid presumption? James reminds us that we don’t actually know what tomorrow will bring. All the plans in the world won’t change God’s will for tomorrow. He graciously gives wisdom to help us prepare for the future, but His wisdom reminds us that that future is not in our control. It is in His.

            May God be gracious to us, and teach and lead us to always make our plans with hearts that are fully surrendered to Him. Amen!

Luke 12:16-21 (NIV) ¹⁶  And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. ¹⁷  He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' ¹⁸  "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹  And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."' ²⁰  "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' ²¹  "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

Proverbs 16:3 (NIV)  Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)  Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) ⁵  Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶  in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

PRAYER:  Father, tomorrow belongs to you alone. Everything I plan, I make subject to your will, your wisdom, and your glory. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

Jesus Christ is Lord!    

Scott