Those who make their brains perspire (sweat) do better in life than those whose hands perspire.
It has been established that one reason why gifted, anointed and multi-talented people fail is that they fail to plan. Some pray hard, read the Bible religiously, are capable of doing a lot of things, but they have no plans for their lives. To fail to plan is to plan to fail. Disaster in life and ministry is the inevitable portion of those who do not plan to succeed.
WHAT IS PLANNING?
• It is thinking ahead as to what you want to accomplish and the line of action to take to accomplish it.
• It is ‘thinking before doing’. That is, using your brains before using your hands.
• It is coming up with strategies to reach your desired goal.
• It is devising a course of action on how to move from the way things are to the way things ought to be.
Planning is the mental activity that precedes a physical activity. In planning, you make your brain sweat before your body sweats. If the things you do; your marriage, a project, your business, your studies, etc. fail to turn out well, one worthwhile area to check is your plans.
WHERE DOES PLANNING START FROM?
Planning starts on your knees. Planning is not unspiritual. It does not box out the Holy Spirit. Since God has a plan for you and your entire affairs, you can access that through prayers; meditative prayers. Ask the questions:
Where am I now?
Where do I intend to be?
What steps do I take to get there?
When do I get there?
What will it cost?
When will I do what?
For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it, Lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
Luke 14:27-30
WHY PLAN?
An elderly man was asked the secret of success. He replied by saying that he did not know the secret of success, but he knew the secret of failure. According to him, “The secret of failure is attempting to do everything”. Planning helps you to set goals.
To avoid attempting to do everything; SET SPECIFIC GOALS. People with goals succeed partly because they know what they want; they also know where they are going. God responds to you when you know what you want. When you set goals, you determine what would be accomplished. You establish a target towards which you will be directing your efforts. “He who tries something and fails is infinitely better than he who tries nothing and succeeds.”
PRAYER/FAITH CONFESSION
Heavenly Father, as I make plans about 2024, help and guide me to do so in line with Your eternal will for my life. In 2024, my time will not be wasted chasing shadows, my efforts will not be wasted pursuing the things heaven has not earmarked for me. I shall be purposeful. I shall accomplish great feats. 2024 is the year I have been waiting for, in the name of Jesus.