Planning to do good

Woody Allen always quipped, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans." So true, isn't it? We plan one thing but find something totally different unfolding. Some fool-heartedly believe we are the makers of our own destiny. We are indeed the 'makers' of our own consequences, but are we really the makers of our own destiny? Plans change as life happens. Life choices bring either good, or not so good consequences. A consequence is just the outcome or 'output' of something that was 'input' earlier. You've likely heard the saying, "Garbage in - Garbage out". Nothing could be truer about the plans we conceive and then try to bring to fruition without God's oversight and intervention.

If you plan to do evil, you will be lost; if you plan to do good, you will receive unfailing love and faithfulness. (Proverbs 14:22)

Plan to do evil - lose it all in the end. The consequences may not be immediate, but they will come eventually. Plan to do good - unfailing love and faithfulness are your reward. I don't know about you, but I would rather receive a reward more than a consequence! The more we plan, the less we focus on listening. Don't believe me? When was the last time you listened to someone else's input into YOUR plans? You might not realize it, but the more you plan one thing, the less likely you are to consider anything else. This isn't good when God is trying to get you to a place where he can move you into something new. Your 'plans' may actually keep you rooted in the present, unwilling to consider the freshness that will come when we move away from that plan and toward God's.

Planning to do good doesn't happen by accident. It is a purposeful action on our part, taken time and time again, with a set goal in mind. We want to embrace what God has for us, so we make him the first part of our day. We want to listen to what he has to say to us, so we get into his Word and ask him to show us what he has for us within those pages. We want to have meaningful relationships, so we make the effort to focus on them. If we want a meaningful relationship with God, we must focus on it, as well. Planning to do good means we make active choices all day long to keep God front and center in our lives. When we find our planning takes priority, we need to refocus so he is once again at the center of our plans. Just sayin!