As for
the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty
years, yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; for soon it is gone and we fly
away. Who understands the power of Your anger and Your fury, according to the
fear that is due You? So teach us to number our days, that we may present to
You a heart of wisdom. (Psalms 90:10-12)
So few of us “number our days.” We are prone to take for
granted that another day is coming and even another year for things left undone
to be done and new things to happen.
Wise living recognizes the value of every day we live and the
opportunity we have to impact our world.
There are three faulty assumptions of those who make
no plans and set no goals:
1.
They think their
feelings are an infallible guide for sensing the leading of the Spirit. But even Jesus did not take this attitude, for
when he prayed in the garden, “If it is possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39),
he was clearly indicating (among other things) that His feelings were in
opposition to His purpose from the Father. He would prefer not to face the cross but was
led to it by God.
2.
They believe that
the Holy Spirit leads people only in a spontaneous way. That is, He does not move them to make plans
but to be free to act on a whim. I have
even seen teachers and preachers who do not prepare but lean wholly on chance
to direct them. They seek to be “open to
the spirit” to say what comes on impulse.
John
4:1 says, Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether
they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. The gift of
the Spirit was no excuse for poor planning and study.
3.
They subconsciously reject the idea that they can hear the Spirit’s
voice through the Scriptures. By
abandoning the Word of God as their normative guide, they are assuming that the
Holy Spirit usually circumvents the Word when he speaks to men. This is hardly
the view of the Spirit-led men of the past.
David gave instruction to seek the Word of God in Psalm 119:9-10
How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.
With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your
commandments. Paul
counseled young Timothy not to neglect the Word of God when he said, Be diligent to present yourself
approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately
handling the word of truth. But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will
lead to further ungodliness. (2 Timothy 2:15-16)
Holding too
tightly to plans and goals
The opposite extreme is to be
so engrossed in our plans and what we are doing that we ignore when God is
giving us direction. In Acts 16 Paul is on a determined course of mission work
when A vision
appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to
him, and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." When he had
seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that
God had called us to preach the gospel to them. (Acts 16:9-10) Insensitivity to
the Spirit was not an option.
We should use our minds and set goals, but we must do
so in humility, recognizing that God alone controls our destiny. James brings
the healthy balance to the issue...
Scripture to Claim:
Come now, you
who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a
year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what
your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little
while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we
will live and also do this or that.” James 4:13-15
