Does God Want Us To Be Planners?

By - Eric Shulman, National Capital Bible Church

‘Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”;  whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”’ James 4:13-15

Everyone struggles with something. Personally, I’m overly anxious. My wife and father compare me to a duck - calm looking above the water, but constantly churning beneath. This mindset leads to a need for planning. I love to know what’s next, when something will happen and what else is on the horizon.

For those of you who aren’t fellow planners, let me enlighten you on some of the issues that can come from this mindset:

• I struggle with being flexible.

• When it comes to the unknown, anxiety and fear fill me.

• I quickly become frustrated when things don’t go to plan.

• It’s easy to miss out on “the moment” when I’m trying to think three steps ahead.

To be fair, the mindset does come with some benefits:

• I’m consistently prepared.

• It’s easy to see how things can fit into each other from a big picture perspective.

• I’m rarely late (of my own accord. My two boys, both under three years old, of course have a timeline of their own).

With this dichotomy around planning, it becomes interesting to ask: does God want us to be planners?

Let’s start by looking at two verses:

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” Proverbs 27:1

“Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:34

These Bible verses quickly and clearly articulate that our focus should be on today. It’s important not to dwell on the future, but on what lies before us each day. While God gives us a brain and enables us opportunities to glorify Him while thinking ahead, planning can result in fear, anxiety and keeping our eyes on the details of life.

Now, let’s review Matthew 10:29-31:

“Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

God, as He often does, goes deeper than simply stating “don’t plan.” Instead, God reminds us of His strength and love for us. The Bible verse shows us we don’t need to be concerned about the future because He has even our most basic needs already planned for and handled in advance.

The knowledge that God has us taken care of is incredibly reassuring. Yet, we know we are imperfect and flawed. We will still see bouts of anxiety. What, then, can we do as Christians to work through those moments?

• Pray.

  “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6,7

• Be grateful.

  “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

• Advance in our knowledge of God and His Word, the Bible.

  “...but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:18

The first two of these should be easy to understand. By praying to God about our anxieties and fears surrounding the future, He can bring us the peace and calm we need. We simply need to ask. Prayer also allows the opportunity to pause, slowing our irrational thought. Gratitude, meanwhile, provides us a replacement attitude for our fear. Using prayer and gratitude together can enable us to shift from anxiety and emotion to logic and biblical principles.

As for growing our knowledge of God and his Word, reflect on our last statement. It’s important to move away from emotion. Yet how can we replace emotion with logic and biblical principles if we don’t actually know about God?

Furthermore, knowledge of our Savior provides peace that the world cannot. The world’s offerings, such as comfort from planning, are not dependable. Variables can change your plans constantly. There are many things we can’t predict or forecast. Not to mention, those we depend on can let us down. On the other hand, God’s essence provides immovable guarantees for our security. (John 14:27)

Finally, in times of anxiety, we can use a problem-solving device known as Faith Rest. Here, we call to mind Bible verses, remind ourselves of the biblical principles these verses represent, and apply them to our current situation.

At this point, it’s important to reflect once again on our earlier question: Does God want us to be planners? Based on the above, a combination of Bible verses directly answering the question and principles we can extract from our knowledge of God and His Word, the answer is clear:

We are to focus on Him, not our future.

If you have any questions on this topic or on how to make the information above real in your life, we highly encourage you to reach out to us at National Capital Bible Church. Our pastor, Freddy Cortez, would be happy to discuss it with you.

This post was written by Eric Shulman of National Capital Bible Church. If you have questions about this post or Christianity in general, please contact us today!