If you’re a planner, like I am, you like to orchestrate things about your life, so you’re prepared. You like to know when company is coming so you can bake a pie, or at least have cookies from the market. You like to be ready to serve those around you. That may mean you’re not as comfortable when your boss drops a new project in your lap before you’ve finished the last one to your satisfaction. You’re not as thrilled to have people just drop in at dinner time when you were just having leftovers. Planning helps you believe things will go as they should.
Now, most of us will go so far as to figure out the ideal plan, let’s call it plan A. Then, we’ll have some alternative ideas in case we need them, which would be plan B. But what if this whole approach is missing the one thing we need to keep in mind, Plan G. Proverbs reminds us that we can have a lot of plans, but it’s actually God’s plans that will prevail. In that case, perhaps we should begin anything we do with Plan G, Plan God. Maybe that is how we can be more certain that our steps will count, our actions be embraced, and our outcomes be the best ones possible.
Proverbs 16 reminds us that if we commit our plans to God, they will succeed. Does that mean the outcome will be exactly what we expected? No! It means the outcome will be what God expected, and so we don’t have to worry about anything. God’s plans come with alternative solutions and we didn’t have to figure them out ahead of time. We just have to trust that He is guiding our thoughts and actions. You may remember that in Jeremiah 29, we are given God’s plans for us. He says, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you.” Plans to prosper you are successful, blessed, those that go beyond any details you may have come up with. Plans to prosper your heart and mind, your spirit, and well-being. Plans to strengthen and renew you. The Scripture goes on to say that God does not have any plans to harm you. That seems almost unnecessary to say. After all, God wants your good, your best, because you’re His child.
The final thought in that Scripture of Jeremiah 29 says, “I have plans to give you hope and a future.” It seems to me that Plan G then is the only way to go. Hope is always about the future. Hope is that amazing motivator that keeps us moving, striving, trying to become more than we are now. Hope is God’s gift to any plan we might make, at least if we set our own plans aside, and give everything over to God. So, here’s my thought.
When you are facing something that requires your gift of planning, before you make the list of pros and cons, or the list of what ifs and maybes, or the list of things that must be done, stop. Open your heart in prayer and let God into your planning session. Listen for His direction and He will guide your steps. After all, Proverbs 16:9 says, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” That must mean you’ll be a step ahead and moving in the right direction.
I highly recommend Plan G. You’ll see God’s hand at work every time, and your heart will be at peace.