Broken For Building

What are you making plans for? A big move, a new career, a trip, a date, an outing? As the days of spring speed on and the summer arrives, I can’t help but do what I love to do…plan. Any one who knows me well, knows that I enjoy planning – planning events, weddings, outings, parties, vacations, meals, even my children’s summer activities. My calendar is already printed, waiting for me to pencil in the details. Unlike my husband who is the king of “go with the flow,” I am the queen of to do lists,  planners and calendars. Even if you are not a big planner, we’ve all made plans at some point and some of the plans were fulfilled while others were interrupted or thwarted.

Proverbs 16: 1, 3, 9 reads: “We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer. Commit your actions to the Lord and your plans will succeed. We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps” (NLT).

As we plan our daily agenda, our weekend, our month, etc. let us not forget to ask God for direction. I typically have an idea of what I will post prior to posting night. This post about planning, ironically, was unplanned. I had a different topic in mind, but as God would have it, I needed a reminder about planning.  Although we set our plans, God ultimately wants us to lay the plans at his feet and leave them there for his shaping, for his molding.

Allow for Interruptions
I view interruptions in my plans as setbacks. However, what if I viewed them as opportunities? God can use these interruptions from spouses, co-workers, children, strangers, as opportunities to stretch beyond my boundaries, refocus my priorities and hear from Him. Interruptions of my precious plans are sometimes God’s way of getting my attention. If everything went according to my plans all the time, I fear that I would seldom look to God. I would feel that I could do things on my own. But give me an interruption that could make the achievement of my plan almost impossible, and I am calling on Jesus for help. Thank you Lord for interruptions in my plans to remind me that I need Your help.

Include Him in Your Plans
I can plan a whole day, minute by minute and sometimes leave no room for God. Because every minute is accounted for, I neglect to even pencil in time with God on my calendar (or in my phone). What if I set an alarm to spend time with God as I set alarms for other meetings and events? What if I left some time open in my schedule and asked God to direct me during that time as to what I should do with my time? How much more effective could I be? How much more could I accomplish? Let me not get so carried away in my vision that I neglect to ask for your guidance, for your stamp of approval. 

Lord as I plan for my future, my week, my summer, my career, my family, help me to be flexible enough to allow you to interrupt my plans.  With each interruption, may I choose to focus on the lesson or the task you want me to accomplish and not simply my agenda. Help me to give my plans over to you. You are El Roi (pronounced Ro-ee’) – The God who Sees – You see ahead of me, you see behind me, you see around me. You see my today, you see my next week, you see my future. As you see, please direct my steps. My vision is limited. Yours is not.