OUR PLANS AND GOD’S PLANS

"There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand." (Proverbs 19:21)

Most of us have made great plans for how we want our year to be. Planning is good. We make plans for ourselves based on what we consider to be our best interest. The reality is that many times God’s plans for us and the goals we have for ourselves differ.

What we believe to be best for us and what God considers to be best for us are usually not the same. Because of the difference between what we want and what God wants for us, we sometimes make well-intended plans that God does not bless.

"How can I know if what I am doing is right?" you may be wondering. "Must I wait until I have failed in what I am doing to discover that what I believed was wrong?" Not really. Here are some simple steps we can take to help us make plans that align with God’s plans for us.

• Prayerfully set your plan. This is where everything starts. We must begin setting our plans by talking to God about the things we want to do. He must be in the picture, right from the beginning.

• Seek God’s honour and not your vanity. Why do you want to achieve the goals you’ve set for yourself this year? If your main desire is to score a point for yourself or against a perceived competitor, then your motives could be wrong. In the end, your priority in life should be to do things that bring glory to the name of the Lord.

• Stay alert to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit leads us in many ways. One of those ways is when the Holy Spirit speaks to our spirits through the language of our emotions. When an experience or relationship always leaves us feeling angry, anxious or depressed, those emotional signposts could be the Lord showing us His displeasure.

Don’t make any assumptions about how you feel about a particular situation. Take time to pray about that negative feeling you have about what you are doing and allow the Holy Spirit to make the will of God evident to you.

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