A few thoughts on planning

1.        Planning is an exercise of faith

 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" – Hebrews 11:1  

Faith is to believe in something without proof of its existence – it is to hope for something which is not seen.  

A plan is premised on the hope of turning dreams, desires and aspirations into reality.

Dreams, desires and aspirations are things which are not seen.  

Planning involves hoping for things which are not seen.

Planning is an exercise of faith.

2.        We succeed when we plan and fail when we don't

"The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception." – Proverbs 14:8

There are two kinds of people that I come across everyday – those who live their lives by design and those who live their lives by default.

Those who live their lives by design make plans for the future.

Those who live their lives by default do not make plans for the future.

Winston Churchill once said, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

We succeed when we plan and fail when we don't.

3.        Our plans succeed when God is involved in every aspect of our lives

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." – Proverbs 16:3

The biggest of our dreams, desires and aspirations must be to always give the Lord first place in our lives.

When we give the Lord first place in our lives He directs, guides and protects us.

With the Lord's direction, guidance and protection, we have a better chance of succeeding in whatever we do than without them.

Our plans succeed when God is involved in every aspect of our lives.

4.        Our plans succeed when we get input from others

"Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed." – Proverbs 15:22

There are those of us who say, "It's either my way or the highway."

We do not see that that the only people that we are hurting are ourselves.

"My way" is not always the right path.

We sometimes need others to show us the way we should go.

Our plans succeed when we get input from others.

God is on your side

When things do not work out according to our aspirations and desires, we sometimes blame God and render Him undependable.

Is God truly at fault?  Is He ever undependable?

"God causes all things to work together for the good of those that love Him and are called according to His purposes" (Romans 8:28).  God cannot be at fault.  He always causes everything that takes place in our lives to work together for our good.

What more, God says "I have plans for you … plans not to harm you, but to give you a hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11).  We can always depend on God. His plans for our lives are not to harm us but to give us a hope and a future.

 Whenever things do not work out according to your aspirations and desires, always remember that God is on your side. His plans for you are not to harm you. They are to give you a hope and a future.