One of phrases that we often hear nowadays is — “COVID-19 changed my plans.” Indeed, the pandemic has changed and will continue to change a lot of plans. But should we stop planning because of COVID-19? What does the Bible tells us about planning?
James, the brother of the Lord Jesus Christ, has left us with a very practical letter that we ought to read.
Here is what James wrote about planning: Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
What can we learn from these verses?
First, make a plan but do not forget to include God in your plans.
We learned a lot about planning in leadership seminars, in schools and in every day life. We know how to make a budget, assign people, and weigh the pros and cons of every plan. But what we oftentimes forget is to include God in our plans.
Let us remember that when we open our planning session with our prayer, it is not just a ritual that we do but more importantly, it is an invitation for God to be in our planning.
We have to be open to the leading of God in our planning. We have to ask ourselves if what we plan is according to the will of God as found in the Bible. We also need to listen to God if He directs us into another plan of action.
Second, our plans must be seen in the context of eternity.
The length of our lives is very short. We even do not know when it will end. The sooner we realize this, the sooner that we can submit our lives and our plans to an eternal God.
When we know the brevity of life, we make plans that we are not ashamed to pass on to the next generation. We make plans not just for us but for our children’s children.
The exploitation of our natural resources which was started generations ago is an example of a plan that does not account of the dire consequences for the future generations.
Let us always include God in our plans!
May God bless us all!
Sincerely,
Rev. Francis Neil G. Jalando-on
Director, Office of Communications
Central Philippine University