Plan with an open hand
There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan
that can succeed against the Lord.
—Proverbs 21:30
I used to spend so much time planning for the year ahead, budgeting and goal-committing—but the years have shown me that such precise planning is a waste of time.
Some of the work helped, but things never happened just as we laid them out. We produced so many reports, pro formas and forecasts that many of our revenue-producing projects were put on hold for weeks. And of course the delay made it that much harder to achieve the sales goals we'd spent so much time setting!
Budgeting is a necessity—we are of course to count the cost before do the work. But just when we think the future is in hand, the Lord reminds us he's the one in control. Life changes, the markets spins sideways, people come and go.
When plans seem perfect or our vision casts an exciting future, we must hold onto them loosely. God's authority and power overshadow them:
"The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples" (Ps 33:10).
God is mysterious indeed. He wants us to plan, yet he changes those plans.
"A man's steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way?" (Pr 20:24)
#Leadership accepts the mystery.
In light of God's higher plans, what are we to do? We pray for his will to be revealed, to conform us to his will, to inspire our thinking, to direct our steps.
Sometimes he confirms his guidance with striking clarity:
"The dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms because the matter has been firmly decided by God" (Gen. 41:32).
God affirms his direction.
I have a friend who leads a vibrant ministry, but he has also suffered much (including the early death of his beloved wife who also was his ministry partner).
He told me this morning during a strategy meeting that he doesn't have the fire like he did ten years ago with regard to growing the ministry and launching new projects. These days he leads with more of an open hand, grabbing onto what God brings his way. He waits for confirmation and doesn't overreact to redirection.
I was humbled as I thought about the work I do for God—how much of it is personal ambition versus divine direction? Hard one to answer.
Lord, hold my hand open and fill it with the fruit of your plan.
"This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourself to be my disciples" (Jn. 15:8).
Is your leadership fruitful?
Excerpted from Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership, by Tom Harper (DeepWater Books, 2019). Also available in Spanish and Amharic.
 | Tom Harper is publisher of BiblicalLeadership.com and executive chairman of Networld Media Group, a business-to-business publisher and event producer. He has written five books, including Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership (DeepWater Books, 2019) as well as the Christian business fable Through Colored Glasses and its sequel Inner Threat (DeepWater, 2022). Learn More » |
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