day 20: It’s Not Just About Planning

I am a planner. I learned a long time ago from my Mother that planning ahead makes lots of things go easier. She once told me when I was a kid, “if you lay your clothes out the night before tomorrow will go a lot smoother”. I have never forgotten that lesson so I try and plan as far ahead for things as I can so if something goes awry in the meantime, I have some time to make a course direction or change of plans. However, I have learned that planning is only half the equation. We can plan until the cows come home but then the curve balls of life and uncertainties that come with the day to day can cause us to be blown off-course. It happens all the time and we are caught wondering what happened and what could we have done to have better had our plans succeed. Proverbs 16:3 helps us out here. That verse says, “Commit your work to the Lord, and then your plans will succeed”. Here is another of those proverbial promises that we are given. I find this an especially strengthening verse because it doesn’t say that we should just commit our plans to the Lord and He will have them succeed. No, it says, “Commit your work” to find the success in our plans. What we do for a living takes on an even greater purpose and importance when we realize that God has His hand in what we do at work. Some people I talk to think this is really stretching it. They say, “What does God really care about the job that I do, when I don’t much care for what I do myself?” You see, that is the point. We are to care and we are to take pride and we are to commit our work to God so that we can be the best representative of the type of work He would do if He was doing the job that we are. The impact we can have on others when they see us taking pride and putting in above and beyond efforts is a walking and living testimony of how He wants us to live our lives. We are given the promise that our planning will succeed if we go the extra step and commit our work to Him. That is if we step back and say, “Lord, what I have been given to do, I will do with all I have to bring glory to you and to reflect as much of you through me and my work as I can, and I commit my work to you” then the plans we have laid out in front of us will and can be achieved. This kind of promise should make all of us want to look at our work through a different and more positive lens. Think about today whether or not you have truly committed your work to God and if you haven’t then see if you can commit today, or things that you are going to do today, to Him and then step out of the way and allow Him to fulfill the promise that will be forthcoming.


Reference: Proverbs 16:3 (New Living Testament)