If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. As cliché as this may sound, it is true. I am writing to myself just as much as I am writing to you. It’s another wrap to another year and many people are writing their goals and hopes for the coming year. Some people have even started working towards the things they want to achieve from now. All is good. It is good for us to have goals. However, goals are inacheivable without plans.
One of the best creatures at planning is the ant. The ant understands that it may be difficult to gather anything in winter. What it does is that it works all summer, gathering and keeping in excess amounts. When winter comes, it takes from its reserve to thrive. If a creature as tiny as that can understand the importance of making plans, how much more we?
Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.
Proverbs 6:6-8
God is going to give you ideas and visions but what’s your plan? Do you have any? Might I add, don’t just know this plan in your head. Write it down as well. Pin it and look at it every day. That way, you re guided as to what to do per time and why you need to do it. Have a plan, write the plan and be committed to the plan. (Hab. 2:2-3)
In Luke 14:28-32, Jesus speaks about planning and weighing costs. A lot of people rush into projects that they end up abandoning because they didn’t make any plans. They didn’t sit down to evaluate how much it will cost and what strategies they would need for proper execution. As quickly as they rushed into it, is how quickly they rush out. In the coming season, if you’re going to build and finish building, you’re going to need a brainstorming session. Think about the pros and cons, the costs of each “adventure” and come up with a strategy for execution.
The problem with many believers is that they think faith is all they need. It’s not all we need. Even when Jesus was giving instruction concerning preaching the gospel, He gave a plan; from Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria and then the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). When you lack a plan, you have nothing look back on should a problem arise. If there was ever any confusion for the disciples, they could easily go back to the drawing board and look at the plan. For anyone to succeed, for anyone to make anything work at all, a plan must be in place.
Don’t make your plan in isolation. The scripture tells us that nothing is new under the sun, and this is true (Eccl. 1:9). Life is a continuous cycle of history repeating itself. What that means is that whatever you are planning to do, if you check well, someone else has done it before. Proverbs 15:22 tells us that when there is no counsel, plans fail but sufficient advice brings success. The reason your plan isn’t succeeding might be that it’s a duplicate of one that previously failed. Check people who have gone ahead and take lessons from them. You can’t repeat the same mistake twice and expect success.
But if by any chance, your plan or idea is totally novelle, you have the advantage of God’s wisdom. Involve Him in your plan. God is the Master planner. Whatever plans you have, make sure commit them into His hands. And while at it, trust in His wisdom. He can give you the best plan to achieve great success.
However, there are times He will approve of those plans and times, He will say no but show you a better way. Proverbs 16:9 ESV says the heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. At the end of the day, it is God who orders our steps. As believers, we recognize a Higher Authority which we submit to. It is important to involve God in your planning phase so that you have a working plan.
Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
Proverbs 19:21 ESV
One advantage of making plans with God is that He gives you foresight. Every planner’s greatest ick is a plan disruptor. It can be so frustrating to have planned something in your head and then some unforeseen circumstance ruins it. But when you plan with the One who sees the end from the beginning, even unforeseen circumstances don’t throw you off balance. Take the story of Pharaoh for example. He had a dream and little did he know how serious the dream was. Joseph was able to interpret the dream for him by the help of God, and it saved them 7 years of turmoil. Imagine if they didn’t have the foreknowledge that after the 7 years of plenty there would be 7 years of famine. It would have been a total disaster! But, they were able to make a plan that could stand the test of time and unforeseen events because God was involved. They even achieved a level of greatness they didn’t expect, because God was involved. (Gen. 41)
In my not many years of living in this world, I have come to realize that it’s not also enough to plan. There must be systems and structures put in place for that plan to come into fruition. If you have a goal to graduate as the valedictorian of your class. You’re going to need a plan for that…and more importantly, a structure to ensure your plan is up and running. Plans thrive on structures. I mentioned something earlier about being committed to your plan. Even if you are committed, if there are no structures or systems to facilitate your commitment, you will not stick to your plan. Discipline, for example, is a structure and so is diligence and self-control. (Prov. 22:29)
So you have goals for the coming year, habits you want to break and new ones you want to build…have you made any plans on how you will meet up? Have you set up systems to help your plan?
As you plan for the new year, here’s my prayer for you: May God grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans! (Psa. 20.4 ESV)
Happy New Year in advance!
Faith+blog 