God is the ultimate planner. He planned the universe, mankind, and the details of your life and mine. He has a clear picture in mind of all that He desires to see come to pass in our lives. Those who can see God’s plans and develop them will become wise planners themselves.
I am a planning enthusiast. Between working in the ministry, traveling with Dennis, and home schooling my daughter, I had to become a master planner to stay on top of things. I had to increase my capacity to think ahead and develop the details of different projects in order to accomplish all that was on my plate.
Each year we take a motorcycle trip to various destinations across America. We ride with several couples, all of whom are ministers. Sometimes our trips are 2,000 miles round trip, staying in a different location every night. Over the years I have planned many of these trips, mapping out the roads we will travel, make the reservations for the various hotels in which we stay, and even plan some of the possible activities after we arrive.
For me, the planning is nearly as fun and fulfilling as the ride itself. Although it takes a great deal of work and planning, I enjoy it.
There was a time, many years ago, when one well-known pastor’s wife condemned me for being a planner. She claimed that planners didn’t trust God or flow with the Holy Spirit. Actually, in many ways it is more trusting and anointed to plan ahead with Him than to merely jump into something unprepared and hope God will do something.
It is not a lack of faith to plan wisely. Yet many people have put themselves in a position of terrible pressure because they failed to plan for their financial needs. Other people, thinking they were operating in faith have acted in foolishness or presumption. Hoping to “walk on water,” they jump out of their boat but they forget that there was only one time God told Peter or any of the disciples to walk on water. Every other time He told His disciples to use a boat.
Proverbs 21:5 says, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty” (NKJV).
Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed” (NLT). It’s important that we consult the Lord when making our plans. Pray about them and seek His guidance. Then commit them to the Lord and He will bless them.
God anoints plans when we have sought Him in the development stage. God-directed planning leads to success. We must learn to spend time planning our financial future, our family activities, and the use of our personal time. Wise planning is acting on our faith for the future.
In developing our plans, we must factor in the results of our faith and giving. Our plan will reinforce the target we have set for our faith. As we move forward with our plans, we can always review and revise them, but our plan will help us keep a clear idea of where we are and where we are going.
