How Planning Ahead Can Help You Keep God a Priority
Planning ahead can make all the difference in connecting with God as a priority in your life. A little planning invites His Spirit to move.
We pulled up into the store parking lot. Since our kids were very young at the time, I knew I was in for a challenge. There was the toy aisle. The dollar section. And of course, the dreaded candy display at the checkout. Any of those sections could spell disaster!
The Power of Planning
I quickly began to think through a plan. Here is where I need to go, I thought. This is what I need to get. Then I began to explain the plan to our kids. “Mom needs to grab a few items. We are not getting any toys or candy today. Everyone needs to be good listeners and be sure to stay with me. No running or screaming when we are in the store. Be sure to smile and say hello to the checkout person when they greet you.” You get the point. You can probably visualize the deer-intheheadlights looks I received from my children.
But oddly enough, it worked! Not perfectly. But in time, this type of planning ahead or predetermination saved us a lot of headaches. There really is something to the simple discipline of thinking and planning ahead. It’s the power of predetermination.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of living externally instead of internally. When we live externally, we are always responding to what is outside of us. Or around us. We might say that we live reactive lives instead of proactive lives. When we are living externally, we are allowing others to determine and direct our priorities and plans for us.
It might look like any of these:
A steady stream of emails.
A phone call.
Family needs.
A friend who just has to stop by . . . right now.
All of these have the potential to steer us off course. While each of these can be legitimate and necessary, the challenge is always to come back to what is driving us internally. To live internally is to live with clarity and commitment to the priorities you have set in your life. Whatever the external need is, predetermination will help us stay focused, or get refocused when we have to.
Will We Do Life God’s Way?
Throughout the Bible, we are often confronted with a choice. We are given the reminder that there are two ways to live—we can walk in wisdom or foolishness. This theme that weaves its way through Scripture begins in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve are given a choice. Will they do life God’s way or their way?
This theme of wisdom versus foolishness is especially clear in the Old Testament book of Proverbs. These pieces of wisdom seek to give us instruction on how life generally works.
And one of these proverbs has to do with planning ahead. Skillful living, or wise living, involves thinking ahead—what we are calling predetermination. Proverbs 13:16 points out that
“All who are prudent act with knowledge, but fools expose their folly.”
The proverb is telling us that those who are wise have thought about the path they are on. They have given consideration to the day ahead, or weeks and months beyond. A life well lived, one we love, is rooted in living out this wisdom in a variety of ways. As it relates to our priorities and calling, it means we are thinking and acting with knowledge. We don’t just wing it! We are living on purpose: internally and proactively, God’s way.
So what does it look like to live with predetermination?
It might resemble some of the following:
Reviewing your schedule and priorities each morning.
Predetermining the tasks that take priority by listing them out in order.
Communicating expectations about your schedule or plans in advance to those around you.
Every day we have a choice: Will we live externally or internally? Will we live out our priorities or someone else’s? Put into practice the habit of predetermination!
Today, let’s spend some time looking at ways we live externally instead of internally. How can we move from living reactively to living proactively?
Reflection:
- In your own words, what does it mean to live externally? What are the most common things that cause you to live externally?
- What are two or three simple habits each day that could help you live internally?
- How can predetermination best benefit those around you?
Inspired by this post? Check out Karen and Ruth’s new book, The Love Your Life Project: 40 Days to Prioritize Your Passions, Cultivate Productive Habits, and Refuel with Times of Rest. They’ll be your guide to find your purpose and passion again while also providing biblical encouragement!
Author bio:
Ruth Schwenk is the trusted author of several books and founder of the popular blog The Better Mom. Ruth is a Michigan football super-fan and a self-proclaimed foodie. But her greatest joy is her family. Connect with her at TheBetterMom.com.
Karen Ehman is a New York Times bestselling author and Bible teacher with Proverbs 31 Ministries as well as a writer for Encouragement for Today, an online devotional that reaches more than four million women daily. Connect with her at KarenEhman.com.
