Goals and plans

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." Proverbs 16:3

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21

This Wednesday, our prayer topic is our plans and goals. We all have goals - from short term all the way to long term. Likewise, we develop plans for reaching those goals. But we don't always stop to seek God's will before we make goals and plans. My typical mode of operation is - develop a goal, make a plan to reach that goal, and then pray that the plan works out. This is really backwards from what we should be doing as Christians. We should first seek God's plan through prayer… then pursue it… praying all along the way. The question to ask is - Are my goals and plans based on my will or are they based on God's will.

One last thing. When I set a goal and lay out the plans to reach it, I am typically focused on the goal more than anything else. Said another way, I tend to focus on the destination - not the journey. But which part do you think God is more interested in? It's during the journey that God is refining us. In retrospect, I can think back on situations were I'm certain the journey is the only goal God had for me all along. The destination wasn't important at all.

Have a great week and a great fast.
Your brother,
Bob