By Barry Buzza

Somebody once said, "Plan your work; work your plan". And also, "Fail to plan and you plan to fail". These two statements run in parallel to God's Word to us. Jesus taught that if you are going to build a tower you'd be wise to make careful plans first; likewise if you are going to send an army into conflict, you'd better have carefully planned your strategy.

King Solomon taught his sons to be like the ants rather than like the sloth. Like good farmers, ants plan for the days ahead by storing up food. He also advised that we should take careful consultation before we make our plans. The advice of wise and experienced friends will ensure our ultimate success. The prophet Isaiah confirmed the idea that the noble plans of noble men will stand the test of time.

Read the life of Moses and see how he planned Israel's journey across the wilderness. See how he organized the twelve tribes; and how he followed the plan of God to construct the Tabernacle. He knew where he was going and how he was going to get there.

Consider the life of David, the man after God's own heart. Look at how his plans for building the Temple were carefully drafted years before its construction; his organization of the temple officers, musicians, scribes, and priests; his civic plans; his structure of an army and careful strategy to extend the furthest boundaries of Israel, and his carefully thought out vision for the future, even after his death. All of those plans he passed on to his son Solomon and his primary leaders before he died. David, like the God in whose image he was created, was a consummate planner.

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I like to make plans for my life; I give God the freedom that he demands to alter my plans, or scrap them altogether if he wants, but I still see it as prudent to plan. I plan each day by priority. I also plan each week. On Monday, I sit down for several minutes with my to do list, calendar, prayer journal and ideas, to write out a plan. Sometimes a crisis such as sickness, accident, birth or death will overrule my plans, but that's okay. I also plan for crises to come and phone calls to interrupt me. Many years ago, I learned the hard way, because of repeated frustration, that we have to leave room for the unexpected or we will inadvertently rule out some of the wonderful serendipities of life.

I also have a seven year plan because I believe that life flows in seven-year cycles. And lastly, I have a life plan consisting of my perceived destiny, life purpose and long-term goals. Of course, I don't know at what juncture of my life journey that God will say to me, "Time's up Barry!", but I keep planning as if I, like the Everready bunny, will keep on ticking forever.

I think that's how God intends for us to live. If we were told by him what the exact day of our death would be, we could plan our lives up until that day only, but that's not how it works. The fact is, even though I've written about finishing well, we will never really be finished. We just simply move aside, and someone else picks the work up where we left off. It's not all up to us; we're only part of the picture. God is still the designer and engineer. It's his work and he'll get it all done right on time.

Barry Buzza, a veteran pastor, is the president of the The Foursquare Gospel Church of Canada. www.foursquare.ca

November 12/2009