Scheduling Wisely

“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.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” - James 4:13-17

Isn’t wealth a great thing? Getting to make money, spend money, and thus continues the circle of life. Or...not. Not to say that money is a bad thing, but the goal of money is a bad thing, unless the goal of money leads to a more ultimate goal, like going on a missions trip (which costs a lot of money). 

Let’s figure this out. Is there anything wrong with planning? No...and yes. The problem isn’t so much the planning as it is the dependence upon successful planning. Last time you got angry because your day didn’t go the way you had planned was due  to dependence upon successful planning. We humans think we know whats coming next and thus think we can always make successful plans, but we can’t. 

Go ahead, plan. Come up with ideas about how to be successful, make a business, invent something, start a church, start a bible study. These are all good things, but they are evil if you are depending upon successful planning, because a good percentage of the time, what you plan is going to fail. That doesn’t mean don’t plan, it means don’t depend upon the plans success. Expect that your plan may fail and be willing to accept that and move on. 

Honestly, what does it matter anyway? Your nobody special. Get over yourself and accept that you are simply waiting your turn in line to die. It’s what you do while your in line that matters. 

Get to work. 

Depend upon the Lord, not upon your plans. Here are some way to make this part of your life.

1. Don’t be too risky. While their are always exceptions to the rule, a good general guideline to live by is to not be too risky. Don’t quit your job till you have another one. Being too risk with your decisions can cause you to depend more upon the outcome of the situation than upon God’s providence. 

2. God is your Father. Remind yourself regularly that God is your father. He is in control, he has planned for what’s going on, and you aren’t in control. Get over yourself, and make God a bigger part of your life. The more you understand that God is in control and he makes everything ultimately lead to good will put into perspective the “bad” things that go wrong with your planning.

3. Be flexible. Don’t engrave your schedule in a stone, but write it on a calendar with a pencil (that has an eraser). Remember, life is an adventure, be willing to change your plans and be willing to have your plans changed. God is a good God and he will be with you. 

Don’t worry so much.

Blessings.