Develop A Plan

Develop a Plan

You’re probably familiar with Jesus’ parables recorded in Matthew 13, especially the first one about the sower, seeds, and soils. Jesus explained the parable’s meaning to the disciples, and he ended with this statement: “The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” (Matthew 13:23). Upon hearing this, we can imagine the disciples thinking, Wow—a hundredfold return! They had signed on to follow Jesus because they believed in him and his message, and they understood that their purpose on earth was to spread the Good News about the Kingdom of God. Thus, they might have taken Jesus’ words about the result of sowing seeds on good soil to mean guaranteed success. So Jesus followed with another parable—this one about wheat and weeds:

The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.

The farmer’s workers went to him and said, “Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?”

“An enemy has done this!” the farmer exclaimed.

“Should we pull out the weeds?” they asked.

“No,” he replied, “you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.” (Matthew 13:24-30)

Jesus’ clear message was that as the disciples were out sowing gospel seeds, Satan would be sowing weeds. In other words, they shouldn’t expect the process to be easy. As they developed their ministry plan, they needed to have the right—realistic—expectations.

In another passage, Jesus put it this way:

Don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, “There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!” (Luke 14:28-30)

Your plans for spiritual growth and for running need to be realistic, taking into account all sorts of possibilities.

The Runner

Ethan had it all figured out. The marathon was scheduled for mid-November, so he would begin his training regimen three months before, making sure to follow the schedule laid out in the running magazine. He did really well at first—the shorter runs weren’t very tough and didn’t take much time . . . and the weather was okay for August, not too hot or humid. But an unseasonably hot week in September knocked him off stride a bit, and the wind and rain in October made running really tough. So before long he was a week behind in his training schedule . . . and then two. Pressures at work didn’t help either; the longer days at the office and a couple of sales trips meant less time for those long runs. As for the marathon, Ethan finished, struggling desperately through the last 10K, but his time was way off his goal—all because he hadn’t been able to put in the miles.

The problem? Ethan’s plan was riddled with idealistic assumptions.

The Race

Some people get the idea that if they trust in Christ, all their problems will disappear; they’ll be prosperous and popular, healthy and heroic. That assumption would be like expecting to breeze through a marathon, and the letdown would be similar when challenges come. You may be ready physically for the run, but you might awaken feeling woozy, race day might be hot and humid, and the course might be pocked with potholes and almost invisible bumps (surprise!). In other words, you may discover that your plan was far from reality. A much better approach is to be prepared for unexpected problems and issues, having a good supply of nutrients, water, petroleum gel, and bandages ready and nearby if you need them. Just running 26.2 miles can be a painful ordeal without having to deal with blisters, chafing, and dehydration. Idealism and impatience will create many more problems than they solve.

The Result

God has given us many positive promises in his Word concerning success, joy, and hope. But he also clearly states that the way will be rough. We need to be prepared for those difficult times, with spiritual salves and bandages and a support team. Jesus told his disciples, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). We need to plan and plan well. And here’s the great news: The Christian race won’t be easy, but we’re not running alone—our Lord is running with us.

My Story

At the end of my sophomore year of high school, rumors were flying that my school was establishing a girls’ soccer team the following year. When the rumors became reality, I was elated. When it was subsequently announced that tryouts would involve sprints, fartleks (a form of interval training developed in Sweden), and a timed one-mile run, I was slightly discouraged, but I remained grounded in my purpose. I was determined to make the summer before my junior year my inauguration into the world of running.

In my imaginings of what this particular summer of running would involve, I envisioned my nonrunner self tying my shoelaces for that first run, and then I pictured my end-of-summer self—toned, fast, ready for soccer. My failure was in ignoring the actual running part: the physical exertion, the aching muscles, the lack of oxygen reaching my brain. It took me about thirty seconds of my first run to realize that this was going to be a long summer.

Desperate times called for desperately pathetic measures. I made a plan: run two minutes, walk two minutes. Once I had mastered that, I decided to run for the duration of one song on my iPod. The song lasted about four minutes, and as it was finishing, I felt like I was on top of the world. Then the song actually finished, and I almost threw up. When summer ended, the cross-country team was nice enough to let me train with them without competing in actual races.

The pain and the time and the feeling of being ridiculously slow were worth it. I made the soccer team—and was named junior captain. I was still slow and steady, but maybe my coach knew the girls at the rear of the pack during our practices needed more encouragement from their leader than the girls sprinting at the front. And in a way, isn’t that just like God’s upside-down Kingdom? He seems to have a habit of placing “the least” of his Kingdom in positions of unexpected honor. The surprising irony of God is so meaningful to the slow and steady among us.

Sarah

Think It Through

1. How have you factored into your running plan possible difficulties (weather, health, responsibilities, etc.)?

2. When did you realize that being a Christian doesn’t keep you from pain and problems?

3. How have you factored into your spiritual plan possible difficulties (economic stress, physical challenges, relationship drama, etc.)?

4. What support team do you have in place to come alongside you during those tough times and spiritual struggles?

On Running

What are the different types of goals?

With a subjective goal, the intent is on having fun and doing your best. Objective goals develop a standard of proficiency for a task within an allotted time. Outcome-oriented goals focus on achieving victory in a competitive situation. Performance goals focus on achieving standards based on your own previous performances rather than others’ standards. Finally, process goals focus on the action of the activity itself in order to properly execute a skill.