Does Your Faith Show In Your Priorities?

Today let's talk about our faith and the part it plays as we make plans, set our goals, and prioritize things in our life. We all make plans and there's nothing wrong with planning. In fact, the Bible has several proverbs that encourage us to make plans. But does your faith have a part in that planning process?

I'm not sure how many of you have seen the Walt Disney movie “Frozen.” In this movie there is a snowman named Olaf. Olaf dreamed about leaving the gray days of winter and experiencing the warmth of summer.

As you watch the movie. You enter his daydreams as he sings the song entitled “In Summer” about all the wonderful things he had heard about the season of summer. He sang about blowing fuzz off dandelions from the lawn, laying on the beach under an umbrella, riding in a canoe on a lake, going for a swim, relaxing in a Jacuzzi, dancing under a gazebo, going on a picnic and experiencing the warmth of the sun.

Even the children watching the movie know exactly what will happen to Olaf if he ever gets his wish. But the lovable, naive snowman does not realize that he will never see summer because he will melt in the spring. Olaf had all kinds of plans, but he was wrong about his future,

Even though we're not fictitious characters in a movie, we can also be wrong about the future and what we plan to do. When that happens, how do we respond? In this last session from the book of James, we'll see where our focus should be even as we plan for the future. Prayer.

As I said a moment ago, there is nothing wrong with planning. The Bible talks about making plans in several areas of our life. The ant plans and prepares for times of need. Wise people include counselors when they are making plans. Diligent people make plans which leads to abundance. All of these are spoken of in the book of Proverbs. In James 4 and 5, he also addresses the topic of planning but instructs his readers to approach future plans with an intentional dependence on God. Do your future plans, intentionally include God?

James 4:13-17 – “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” 14 Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes. 15 Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So it is sin to know the good and yet not do it.”

God has us in His plan. We would be wise to trust God and His plans. Planning is a sound business practice. Business leaders know the importance of planning by anticipating the external forces that could shape a company's future. But even intelligent business men cannot know for sure what the future holds.

For example, a group of 15 key executives of a major airline met in the year 2000 to do some long-range planning up to the year 2020. A facilitator asked the executives to create a list of potential events that could greatly impact their airlines viability.

The executives created an impressive list of twenty potential events that included things like terrorism, modernization, mergers, new competition and computerization, and many of those proved to be a challenge in the twenty year span they examined. But there was one event that they could have never predicted. Do you know what it was? In no way could they have predicted this headline:

Aviation industry suffers worst year in history as COVID 19 grounds international travel.

What God is trying to tell us through James, is that life is precious and fragile. We should plan, but we must subject our plans to God's will.

Proverbs 19:21 – “Many plans are in a person’s heart, but the Lord’s decree will prevail.”

Don't put your trust in your plans. We put our trust in God submitting our plans to God's will. What can we do about this? Maybe we should take a look at our calendar for the next month. And then give the things on our calendar to God, allowing Him to direct our decisions and activities for His glory.

Planning is important, but planning is also fallible. Even the wisest executives cannot know what the future holds. Only God knows the future and only God is infallible. This truth should humble all of us to make sure that we include God in all of our planning.