The Purpose of the LORD

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand. Proverbs 19:21

I love to plan for the future for my family. Having grown up with a father that was in management, a mother who was fairly OCD when it came to organization and planning, it was only natural that at some point, I would eventually begin to try to organize my life at least a little bit. Part of the process of organization is creating and formulating plans. What does this big dream of mine look like? What things need to occur to make this dream a reality? In all, planning is a good thing for anyone who has a family (or anyone who doesn't, for that matter), and it will give you greater probability of success.

However, it is important for us to remember in our hearts who ultimately comes first in our lives and who ultimately has the say in what goes down. When we plan for our future, it should be with great prayer and care. We should factor in our relationship with God first, so that when we make plans, we make them with the consideration our LORD has created us for a purpose, and our plans must be created with the will of God in mind. Otherwise, our plans are truly futile. As we read in James 4,

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"--yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." James 4:13-15

Plan your life. Plan your day. Planning is typically a prerequisite for success. However, plan with the knowledge of the will of the LORD in your heart, that your plans will be within His will and you will feel closer both to the LORD your God and an organized life!