Plans for Making Plans

Proverbs 21:30 (NLT)  No human wisdom or understanding or plan can stand against the LORD.

Psalm 33:11 (NLT)  But the LORD’s  plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken.

Proverbs 16:9 (NLT)  We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.

James 4:13-17 (NLT)  ¹³Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” ¹⁴How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. ¹⁵What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil. ¹⁷Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

I have a lot of plans for this coming year and I cannot believe that the first three months of 2026 have already vanished. I’m pretty sure you have many plans as well. So, do these scriptures mean we shouldn’t be making any plans? Of course not. If you re-read the James passage, the author is clearly saying we should be doing what we know is right and good, because it is in failure to do what we know we ought to do that we err; it is in planning for our own self-promotion or self-gain that we err. The whole point of these verses, at least in my mind, is that when I make plans—daily, yearly, long range—I should be doing so with the clear understanding that God has ultimate control and his plans may differ from mine. What it tells me, is that before making any plans I should be prayerful and have confidence that what I plan to do is in line with those things that are right and good according to God’s word.

So how does all this work in the everyday nitty gritty of life? Well, I’m pretty sure God would want me to keep a clean home, and although I’m good at that, there is still plenty of room for improvement. When I make plans to spend time on cleaning projects, that’s the right thing to do. I’m confident God has given me a small talent for writing and when I make plans to spend time in that activity, I’m sure I’m making a good choice. I know beyond doubt that God wants us to encourage one another, so making plans to write or call someone (or visit when we are able) is also something that is a good plan. God wants me to take care of myself, so I know plans for future medical appointments is part of that good plan.

Most of us have calendars of some type, and it seems today most people use their phones to keep important dates. Yet as we pack the dates of whatever calendar we use, remember God has plans for your life, too! Those things we want to do need to be in line with what we know to be good and right according to God’s word through prayerful consideration. And even beyond that, we need to remember that God’s ways are greater than our ways, and his thoughts far beyond our own. Finally, we need to be ready and willing to obey when our plans are interrupted by some plan or opportunity God places before us. Perhaps it is time to browse through our calendars and appointments...are the things that pack our daily schedules in line with what we know in our heart honors God?

Proverbs 16:3 (NLT)  Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed.

 

Gracious Heavenly Father,

Thank you for giving us clear instructions in your Word. We know in our heart those things which are good and right and those things to which we should be making plans. Now, remind us that what you have planned for us comes first over any of our own plans. Grant us a ready and willing, obedient spirit to seek you first in all that we think, say, and do, and to complete the tasks and opportunities you provide.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

The devotional  Plans for Making Plans appeared first on

Write From My Heart at https://writefrommyheartblog.blogspot.com

Email: Dotty Willmon, writefrommyheartblog@gmail.com

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.