For most of us organization is very important. We plan everything. We plan where we will go to school, what we will study, and our future occupation. We must understand, however planning is not merely a matter of following the principles in some book, but recognizing our God has something to say about our plans. When you plan, you must biblically think about what you are doing. Will what I am doing bring Glory to God? Will my endeavors make me a better follower of Christ? When you can answer yes to these questions, only then can you plan with an attitude that God is pleased with. Your hardest work and best plans won’t please Him or garner success unless they are sanctified by Him. Proverbs 16:3-4, 9, is the perfect guide for ANY planning session, whether spiritual or otherwise: “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. The LORD works out everything for his own ends, even the wicked for a day of disaster. In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”
I would like to encourage you to know the decision to change must be accompanied by changed behavior. Just as you cannot be a reformed burglar if you are still stealing, likewise you cannot be a child of the King unless you are living as though you are one of His chosen. The way you live, whether you are upholding God’s precepts or not, have serious implications for the success of any of your endeavors. If you are not living right, you should not be asking why you are not experiencing success in your endeavors. Proverbs 12:5 says, “The plans of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful.” No matter how you twist and change this verse, we all have to admit one honest to God truth: If you are not living righteously, DO NOT expect God to bless your efforts. Our God is a loving God, not blind or foolish.
Jay E. Adams says “Your life is short, your life is unpredictable, your life is feeble, and your life is entirely in God’s hand.” I truly believe this to be the case. We must come into the realization we are no longer going to live in the same state of despair anymore and put a plan together to make something happen. Viktor Frankl put it best: “Those who have a why to live, can bear with almost any how.” How we plan deliverance is the answer to becoming whole again.
Cynthia A. Patterson is the author of the forthcoming book, It Had to Happen – Understanding that everything you go through in life is for God’s Purpose. A sought-after conference speaker, teacher, and powerful prayer warrior who has a passion to inspire and encourage women. She is dedicated and sold out for the cause of teaching young adult women their significant purpose and worth is found in Christ alone. Her message of faith and wholeness is raising the awareness of God’s purpose and exposing each woman to the reality of His never-ending, love, mercy, and grace. Cynthia lives in Houston, Texas with son Michael who she calls her “mighty man of valor” as he is her first ministry
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