HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 256
page A254
Planning continued
good and bad, helpful and harmful. So you can move ahead with your plans as long as
you are confident they do not go against God’s Word. As you do, don’t be surprised if
God intervenes to alter them.
• G E NE S I S 1 1 :4 , 9 | Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower
that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all
over the world.” . . . the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way he
scattered them all over the world.
• PSA L M 3 3 :1 0 | The Lord frustrates the plans of the nations and thwarts all their schemes.
Making plans without consulting God and what he may want is often a recipe for frustration and disaster.
• PR O V E R B S 3 :5 -6 | Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own
understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
As you submit yourself to God, he will guide you in making many of your plans. Often,
in hindsight, you will see how God guided and directed your choices and actions.
• J A ME S 4 :1 3 -1 6 | Look 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.” How 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. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”
Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.
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Long-range planning is good, but hold those plans loosely. You don’t know what the future
will bring or where God will take you. So plan ahead, but be flexible as you see God working in your life.
HelpFinder
• PR O V E R B S 2 :2 -1 1 | Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out
for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver. . . . For the
Lord grants wisdom! . . . He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. . . . Then you
will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go. For wisdom
will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy. Wise choices will watch over you.
A plan is only as good as the information upon which it is based. Human intellect is limited
and inadequate. Apart from the Lord, your plans are more likely to fail. The Lord promises
wisdom to those who rely on his Word and depend on his Spirit.
What are some plans I should be making?
• 1 K I NG S 5 :5 | So I am planning to build a Temple to honor the name of the Lord my God.
When God calls you to a specific task, you should make plans to obey. Obedience often
requires discipline and sacrifice. How well prepared are you are in these areas?
• PR O V E R B S 3 1 :1 5 | She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and
plan the day’s work for her servant girls.
The woman in Proverbs 31 is a good example of someone planning her time wisely. Often,
making a list of things to accomplish for each day can help you stay on track, be productive, and avoid the frustration of feeling like you’re wasting your time.
• R O MA NS 1 :1 3 -1 4 | I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that I planned many times
to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit,
just as I have seen among other Gentiles. For I have a great sense of obligation to people in
both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike.
Plan to serve and minister to others. In Paul’s case, God didn’t always put Paul where he
thought he would serve. But Paul continued to make himself available to serve wherever and whoever God chose. As a result, he developed a passion for helping all kinds of
people.
• 1 T I MOT H Y 4 :1 4 -1 5 | Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy
spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you. Give your complete
attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your
progress.