Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Effective Planning In the Light of God’s Will




The Word:
Read: Proverbs 19:21

"Effective Planning In the Light of God’s Will" by Randolph Koch

No this isn’t some introduction to becoming a highly effective person seminar. Rather this is an attempt to have us look at our lives in the light of God’s will and Holy Word. We live in a day-timer, gotta check my calendar, I’ll pencil you in society. I must admit that I rely (sometimes heavily) on my planner to keep a balance between my family, ministry, work tasks, and priorities. If I didn’t, I would most likely let someone down because I double booked myself and forgot about a prior commitment. By no means am I trying to insinuate that planners or day timers are bad. I do however want us all to think about how we do plan or set goals, tasks and priorities- with or without a planner in hand. I firmly believe that managing our time is part of being a good steward with the limited time God has given us. No matter if you are a Church Elder, individual, corporation, small business owner etc., this still applies to you. When we sit down to plan our time, our lives, or whatever, I often wonder if we do it in conjunction with spending time in God’s Word and in prayer. We plan, but do we understand that our plans hinge on God’s will and timing before or if our plans are to succeed? Stop for a moment and think. Isn’t this a pretty basic idea, but also very counter-culture!? This is just another part of our Christian lives that we tend to forget as we live in this humanistic world that tells us that we are in charge of our destiny. Granted, we do have free will; but isn’t it God that holds everything and puts everything inevitably in place- according to His will and good purpose? Planning can be and is a healthy thing as we follow God’s will. Have you ever asked yourself how does this plan, idea, activity, etc. affect eternity? This is a healthy question for us to keep in mind. I’m not referring to small plans like: what color car you need to purchase, or what flavor of ice-cream to buy the next time you buy groceries. (Although I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to consult God if you really felt that you needed to.) Let us never forget to place Him completely in the center of our lives where He belongs. The next time you make plans for your life, try seeking His perfect council first. Reject the temptation to do it all on your own because you won’t be truly successful without Him.


Questions to Get Started With:
-When you have an idea or make plans do you seek the council of God, His Holy Spirit and His Word first?
-Do you ever ask yourself how important your plans are in view of eternity?
-Are your plans in the will of God?
-Is God’s will for your life important to you?