Sometimes we don’t give ourselves a chance to succeed. How many of us have made New Year’s resolutions only to barely remember what they are now? So many times, I have written goals and keep them in a drawer as if they would magically produce results on their own! Yes, writing goals is a good start to achieve the results we want, but that’s all it is, a start.
Those of us with codependent leanings tend to take too much on and then feel guilty when we don’t accomplish the infeasible. Codependents are also superb procrastinators. We don’t start things because we fear we won’t do it right or we start and don’t finish because we get easily discouraged.
I thought there has to be a way to feel satisfied about what we accomplish each day. Because we have limitations (like time, energy and responsibilities), we must prioritize. At the end of our days, what will we be happy we did? What will we regret not doing?
I wondered if the Bible had anything to say about writing goals and accomplishing them. Is it a good thing to want more in life? More from our jobs, our relationships, our bodies, our minds, our souls and spirits? I found out yes!
I narrowed down my search to three essential questions:
- Should I make plans?
- How should I make plans?
- What if my desires and dreams seem impossible to achieve?
First, should I make plans?
Proverbs 21:5 says, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.” (ESV) The New Living Translation says it this way, “Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.” This verse says that success starts with a plan. A plan starts with a thought or vision. This vision, brought before the Lord for wisdom, can be made into a godly plan. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18a KJV.)
A hard-working person will plan his time, savings, schedule, career, and life so that he can acquire success in accomplishing goals. But a undisciplined or lazy person is one who runs through life without a plan and ends up in the same place she doesn’t want to be, year after year. No plan, no success. She may be too impatient to do things God’s way – by making the tough, wise choices and can only devise possible short cuts. It’s like the gambler who is set on getting rich, but doesn’t want to rely on hard work, sacrifice and God’s wisdom to make it happen. Staying out of debt, saving consistently, no matter how small the amount, will eventually bring one to financial security. Those who pursue get-rich-quick schemes usually become worse off than they were before. God honors good plans and hard work.
The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. (Proverbs 16:9 ESV.) Is this contradictory? Not at all. Sometimes our heart is close to God as we make our plans and He will help us accomplish His will for us. Other times we are making our own decisions without consulting God and even then, God may intervene and set us on the right path or He may let us go our own way and experience a lesson.
The point is God is in all our steps, but the best way to go is to seek His will and obey. Often when we follow God, even when it doesn’t make sense to us, we end up experiencing the greatest joy from something we would never have thought of. God knows us better than we know ourselves. So, yes, we should make plans but always include God in your decisions for the best results.
We should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.” James 4:15-16 ESV
When we make plans, we must make sure we are not making them from a place of arrogance. Webster’s 1828 dictionary says that arrogance means “assuming; making or having the disposition to make exorbitant claims or rank or estimation; giving one’s self an undue degree of importance; haughty; conceited; applied to persons.”
When we make our own plans without consulting God, we are making ourselves more important than Him. Yet we all have experienced our plans being upset by some circumstance beyond our control. Instead of getting angry or depressed, let it remind us that God is in control and He has the best plans for us.
No matter how Satan may try to discourage you from completing the work which God ordained for you to do, don’t let him win. He may say you don’t have the connections, or the right degrees, talent or time. Friends and family may not approve. But God… God created us to do the impossible through Him. Let’s not limit God by listening to the naysayers. Let’s listen to God and do what is on our hearts to do for Him, our family, our church, our community, ourselves and give God all the glory! Amen!
Secondly, how should I make plans?
“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14 NKJV.)
This means if you have tried and failed and the desire in your heart has not gone away, then forget the past and start again. It is most likely God’s will for you (unless it contradicts scripture).
I believe, based on the Bible, that what we do in this life has a direct correlation to what we will be doing in heaven. God is preparing us for that perfect place and we will still have a purpose which includes work. Work that is satisfying and joyful, not drudgery. So, let’s pursue God’s best now so we can have all He has in mind for us later. Remember, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT.)
“Commit your works to the Lord [submit and trust them to Him], and your plans will succeed [if you respond to His will and guidance].” (Proverbs 16:3 AMP.)
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8 NKJV
Thirdly, what if my desires and dreams seem impossible to achieve? Ah, this is where it gets really exciting!
But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26 NKJV.)
And if your dreams and plans look impossible, good! That means God can work for you and receive all the glory. If you know what God wants you to do, then you can know that you will succeed. He created you for that success! We all have special talents, skills, intellect and possibilities we haven’t even explored yet. God is waiting for us to try and then watch Him work.
Happy planning!
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