10 14 08 Plan Ahead

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.’ You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes. You ought to say instead, ‘If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.’” (James 4:13-15 NET)

So many have had such great plans for the future: Retirement homes, vacations, cash flow, cars, boats and more. But the future never arrived. Reality struck first! James is not saying that planning ahead is wrong. In fact, not planning is planning to fail. Where we mess up is right at the initial phase of our planning: we plan things. As James says above, we need to start by asking the Lord what He has planned for us and then attack things from His perspective.

“But accumulate for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:20-21 NET)

While we can not take anything with us into the next life, we can do two things: leave a legacy of integrity behind and send blessings (treasures) ahead of us. We can PLAN AHEAD for future generations to follow the Godly heritage we set before them as well as accumulate treasures in heaven by the things we invest in to honor Christ in this life. In this way, we are assured that our labor is not in vain. The bank can’t foreclose on time deposited into someone’s life. The stock market can not crash our investments in mission work. We’ll never have to be bailed out for sacrificing our wants for the needs of God’s people. Overtime in prayer, studying His Word, and worship far outweighs overtime at the office. God’s promises trump any business deal we could ever make.

I believe we all have learned a hard lesson on planning ahead by the world’s standards. The books on 3-5 year plans and economic forecasting have been torn up and re-written by the hour. One Book still holds true. God shows us how to PLAN AHEAD. We simply have to remember where our future lies…far beyond the next 40-50 years! As Jeremiah wrote to encourage a disheartened people in bondage: God has plans to prosper His people! (Jeremiah 29:11). We need to deliver that hope today!