Prep those plans

Put God in charge of your work, then what you’ve planned will take place. (Proverbs 16:3)

Have you ever wondered why some things you have planned to do just don't go as planned? You work and rework those plans, trying hard to think of every inevitability, then 'bam', something doesn't go as planned and the whole plan has to be rework - or worse, abandoned entirely. I am an amateur woodworker (emphasis on amateur), abandoning more than just a few 'misguided' projects. They started out well, but that old adage of measure twice, cut once didn't get followed and the 'object' of my plans didn't quite work out. Life is more than a 'measure twice, cut once' kind of deal. It is a seek God repeatedly, let him refine your plans, and don't move until he does kind of deal!

Put God in charge of your work. That doesn't mean we just throw our plans out there and 'tell' God how to make them work out as we planned. It means we submit each and every step of our 'plans' and 'dreams' to him. Some will work out just fine, while he will ask us to abandon others because they are not right for us. When we put our trust in God and not in our plans, we stand a much better chance that the plans will be guided by one who knows the end from the beginning. This whole 'trust' thing is where we often get hung up when it comes to our 'plans', isn't it? We dream big, but God takes it one step at a time. Have you ever noticed that?

The more we 'plan', the less we 'trust'. Sometimes the best thing we can do is sit back, seek his face, and just listen for his plan. The steps we take before we even take the first step with our plans matter more than the plans themselves. I lay out all my tools, align the sawblade in the right position, measure the angles, seeing the wood I have available to me and realizing how I should lay out the project. It takes more time for the prep than the actual project sometimes. That isn't 'wasted time'. It is preparation time and we all can attest to the times we have launched into something with little or no prep, can't we? 

Why will every plan we make succeed when we take time to 'prep' our plans with God? He gives us insight into the parts of the plan that aren't right, those that need to be tweaked, and those that need to be abandoned totally. We might not see those 'adjustments' to the plan on our own, so seeking him, trusting his answers, and leaning into his guidance is paramount to success! Just sayin!