I delivered a sermon titled Plan for Your Future at the graduation party of a dear young man in my local church. God led me to minister to him then from Proverbs 16:1-4.
”1 The plans of the heart belong to man,
Proverbs 16:1-4 ESV
but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
but the Lord weighs the spirit.
3 Commit your work to the Lord,
and your plans will be established.
4 The Lord has made everything for its purpose,
even the wicked for the day of trouble.
Planning for your future
Proverbs 16:1-4 exposes the key fundamentals of planning for your future. No wonder Proverbs 16:1 establishes that plans and planning involve two (2) players: the planner and God. Then Proverbs 16:2 adds that the planner always views his/her plans as right, but God weighs the planner’s spirit.
Consequently, you and God are the two (2) parties involved in your plans for your future. You plan while God weighs your spirit.
God is interested in the intentions of the plans for your future
Moreover, when you are planning for your future, you will perceive your plans to be right because of your self-righteousness. But God looks at your heart (thoughts). He searches and tries your heart.
He does this because He is interested in the intentions of your plans or intended actions.
Remember, when you are self-righteousness, your motives will be characterized by pride and selfishness (Proverbs 16:5). No wonder prophet Jeremiah wrote: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick (or wicked)” (Jeremiah 17:9a).
After that, he posed: “Who can understand the heart?” (Jeremiah 17:9b). And then he answered that “The Lord searches the heart and tests the mind, to give every man according to the fruit of his deeds” (Jeremiah 17:10).
Additionally, the Writer of the letter to the Hebrews wrote that: “… all (creatures) are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). And Apostle Paul weighed in that: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Commit your plans to God
Plan for your future so that God can establish your plans
In Proverbs 16:6, the Wiseman exhorted you and me to commit our work (plans) to God. He then added that God would establish your work (Proverbs 16:3) according to His thoughts for you (Jeremiah 29:11, Psalm 139:17, and Romans 8:28). That is, your plans need to be aligned with God’s will, and when this is the case, He will ensure their success.
Similarly, Proverbs 21:5 states, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.” This verse emphasizes the value of diligence in planning and the blessings (positive outcomes) that result from it.
Plan for your future and submit it to God
Apostle James adds that while it is essential to plan for the future, you must hold your plans with an open hand. You, therefore, acknowledge that God’s plans may differ from your own.
James cautions, “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” (13)— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring” (14a), in James 4:13-14a. Instead, he exhorts you to say, ‘”f the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:15). This passage reminds us of the importance of submitting our plans to God and surrendering to His will.
God made everything for its purpose
Finally, the Wiseman revealed that God made everything for its purpose (Proverbs 16:4). This includes you.
You were therefore made for a purpose, which is for the joy of the Lord, and eternal life or prosperity. And God makes everything in your life glorify Him. But you first have to commit your plans to Him for you to fulfill your purpose and glorify Him. Then you be intentional about glorifying God with your time, talent, and treasure.
Furthermore, the Psalmist in Psalms 90 and 139 verses 10 and 16 respectively, revealed that God has set a tenure for your life. So you have to use the limited time God has given you wisely – time lost isn’t recoverable. You have to submit yourself to God’s guidance.
God’s guidance
Also, you have to use your energy (Ecclesiastes 12:1-8) under God’s guidance. Now is your time (season) to build the spiritual, social, and economic foundations that will last you the next twenty (20) years. You therefore have no option but to grow:
- in God and serve in Church,
- your family and your network, and
- your value, education and career-wise, and economically.
Plan for your future: Conclusion
In conclusion, as Christians, we are called to be diligent planners and wise stewards of the resources and opportunities God and men entrust to us. This is undoubtedly crucial, and essential, for us to consider the future and make thoughtful preparations.
By aligning our plans with God’s will and making thoughtful preparations for the future, we demonstrate our faith in God and obedience to Him. Planning for the future is not about living in fear or anxiety. It is rather about being good stewards of the resources and opportunities that God has given us. Because it is important to live in the present and trust in God’s plan for our lives.
Let us hold our plans with open hands, trusting that God’s purposes will prevail and that He will guide us as we prepare for the days ahead.
