What's the Plan?
Imagine waking up every morning and being given the sum of $1,440.
You’re told you can use that money any way you want to over the next 24 hours, but at the end of 24 hours, it’s all cancelled. You don’t get to transfer any of those $ over to the following day. A new deposit of exactly the same amount gets put into your hands the very next morning. I would expect most of us would be “over the moon.”
We tend to forget that every day we wake to the new gift of 1,440 minutes. Not one of us is more richly endowed than anyone else. We all get the same pot of time. Nothing is carried forward to the next day. Life is about the seizing of the moment.
When the clock struck 12 on 31st December last year, we were given a very precious gift, the gift of 2018. What have we done with it?
I’ve always enjoyed watching archery. It reminds me if we don’t have a target, there’s nothing to hit. If we fail to plan, we plan to fail! It’s as difficult to reach a destination you do not have, as it is to come back from a place you’ve never been.
Yet sadly, surveys suggest only 5% of the population set goals. For the rest it’s management by crisis. They’re like kites blowing in the wind.
Interestingly, it’s not those with the greatest intelligence who prove to be the biggest achievers in society, it’s those with the greatest determination who make maximum impact.
The wisest man who walked this earth (bar Jesus) had some valuable observations about plans or goals in the book of Proverbs. Check out 15.22, 16.1, 16.3, 16.9, 24.3,4, 27.1. A modern version like the Living Bible, The Message or the Good News Bible may help.
The best definition I have come across of a goal is > an end-result achieved through dreaming, planning and diligence. The apostle Paul made his goal, “that I might know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings” (Philippians chpt.3). Jesus set Himself a goal to give Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. He was so determined we read He “set His face like a flint to go to Jerusalem.”
Goal-setting provides us with a valuable time to re-evaluate our priorities (including whether we prioritise family over work) and then reorganise our lives around our chosen priorities.
Valuable areas to consider when we set our goals include:
Proverbs 16.9 (Living Bible) “We should make plans – counting on God to direct us.”
Proverbs 16.1 (Living Bible) “We can make our plans but the final outcome is in God’s hands.”
I encourage you to:
Consider the trapeze artist’s motto: “throw your heart over the bar and your body will follow.”
God has His own plans for us. He likes to bring new and fresh hope our way.
Romans 12.12 (Living Bible): “Be glad for all God is planning for you.” The first spiritual law puts it, ‘God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.
Wayne Martin
Southgate Teacher
You’re told you can use that money any way you want to over the next 24 hours, but at the end of 24 hours, it’s all cancelled. You don’t get to transfer any of those $ over to the following day. A new deposit of exactly the same amount gets put into your hands the very next morning. I would expect most of us would be “over the moon.”
We tend to forget that every day we wake to the new gift of 1,440 minutes. Not one of us is more richly endowed than anyone else. We all get the same pot of time. Nothing is carried forward to the next day. Life is about the seizing of the moment.
When the clock struck 12 on 31st December last year, we were given a very precious gift, the gift of 2018. What have we done with it?
I’ve always enjoyed watching archery. It reminds me if we don’t have a target, there’s nothing to hit. If we fail to plan, we plan to fail! It’s as difficult to reach a destination you do not have, as it is to come back from a place you’ve never been.
Yet sadly, surveys suggest only 5% of the population set goals. For the rest it’s management by crisis. They’re like kites blowing in the wind.
Interestingly, it’s not those with the greatest intelligence who prove to be the biggest achievers in society, it’s those with the greatest determination who make maximum impact.
The wisest man who walked this earth (bar Jesus) had some valuable observations about plans or goals in the book of Proverbs. Check out 15.22, 16.1, 16.3, 16.9, 24.3,4, 27.1. A modern version like the Living Bible, The Message or the Good News Bible may help.
The best definition I have come across of a goal is > an end-result achieved through dreaming, planning and diligence. The apostle Paul made his goal, “that I might know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings” (Philippians chpt.3). Jesus set Himself a goal to give Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. He was so determined we read He “set His face like a flint to go to Jerusalem.”
Goal-setting provides us with a valuable time to re-evaluate our priorities (including whether we prioritise family over work) and then reorganise our lives around our chosen priorities.
Valuable areas to consider when we set our goals include:
- Family
- Social
- Career
- Spiritual
- Physical
- Financial
- Mental
Proverbs 16.9 (Living Bible) “We should make plans – counting on God to direct us.”
Proverbs 16.1 (Living Bible) “We can make our plans but the final outcome is in God’s hands.”
I encourage you to:
- Keep your goal before you
- Try it on for size
- Make it your own and
- Water it daily
Consider the trapeze artist’s motto: “throw your heart over the bar and your body will follow.”
God has His own plans for us. He likes to bring new and fresh hope our way.
Romans 12.12 (Living Bible): “Be glad for all God is planning for you.” The first spiritual law puts it, ‘God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.
Wayne Martin
Southgate Teacher