By Ken Adams: I am a man who lives by a plan. The truth is, I plan out just about everything. I have an annual life plan. I make a monthly plan, and I try to consistently execute a weekly plan. I know a thing or two about having a plan. I think having a plan is good, but one thing the Lord has taught me is that I need to write my plans in dry erase maker, not permanent marker.
Proverbs 19:21 says,
“Many are the plans in the mind of man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”
Plans and Purpose
The Lord is not against planning. In fact, I believe it is good stewardship and good life management to live by a plan. The point however, is that the Lord’s purpose for your life always trumps your planning. Your plan might need to change in order for the Lord’s purpose to be accomplished. God’s purpose for your life, no matter what it might be, is always better than whatever plan you originally concocted.
I often share with people that when the Lord made it clear to me that I was to further my biblical training by going to seminary, I made a few things clear to Him. I made sure the Lord knew that I did not plan to be a senior pastor. I did not plan to be in a Baptist church, and I did not plan to minister in the South. Guess what happens when you tell the Lord your plans?
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For the last thirty one years, I have been a senior pastor in a Baptist church in the South. “Many are the plans in the mind of man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that stands.”
I can’t tell you how thankful I am that the Lord’s purpose trumped my plans. The last thirty one years have been the ride of a lifetime and I am so glad that the Lord’s purpose superseded my plans. Going to seminary was a good plan, but the Lord knew I needed to be a pastor in the denomination I grew up in near the town in which I was raised. God knew what I didn’t know and His purpose for me was so much better than my plan.
His Purpose
As you think about your life, I hope you have a plan. I believe the only thing worse than not fulling your plan is never having a plan to start with. I do hope, however, that your plan is not written in permanent marker. Don’t you just hate looking at a dry erase board that has been written on with a permanent marker? A dry erase board with permanent marker never is a mess.
Write out a plan, but write it in a way that the Lord can use it to bring about His purposes about in your life. He is the one you want making things permanent. He is the one you want making the final calls in your life. Write your plans with a dry erase marker so that the Lord can change them and rewrite them with His purpose in mind.
By Ken Adams
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