Holy Spirit, Here’s My Planner

The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.

Every day we make plans and fill our agendas with meetings, projects, and tasks that need to get done. But rarely does a day go as planned. Your child spills milk on your shirt right before you walk out the door. You get ready to leave, only to realize your work pants are still at the dry cleaner. You are running behind, only to be rear-ended by the car behind you. You get sidetracked and forget to make that important call. You plan a trip to the beach, only to be forced to cancel at the last minute because a hurricane hits the exact spot you were planning to go.

The days that have gone exactly as I planned are so rare that I can’t recall a single one off the top of my head. There’s always something that doesn’t go the way I anticipate—something that causes me to pivot, reevaluate, and redirect. When this happens, my first response is often to count my losses, naming all the things that are going wrong instead of asking God for eyes to see how he’s at work. If you, too, find yourself struggling to let go of your plans, pull up a chair with me and let’s learn from the wisdom of James:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

James revealed three important truths to keep in mind as we plan our days:

1. Our lives are temporary. James describes our lives as a mist, as steam that rises and then—poof!—vanishes as quickly as it appeared. This is a humbling reality check. Living with the knowledge that our lives are just a vapor helps us see our plans from an eternal perspective.
2. We do not know what tomorrow will bring. Our understanding is limited, finite; God’s understanding is unlimited, infinite. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but we know the God who holds tomorrow. With this comforting knowledge in mind, we can live faithfully in this moment, trusting God to provide for our needs.
3. God’s plans, not ours, come to pass. Making plans is not wrong, but building our lives on them leads to a shaky foundation. James encourages us to make plans with this caveat: “If the Lord wills.” We bring our plans into alignment with his by being in the Word, in prayer, and in fellowship with other believers.

What if we gave the Holy Spirit our planners each day and welcomed him into the creation of our schedules as well as the changes?

Today, I invite you to pray along with me: “Holy Spirit, here is my planner. Here is my life, my dreams, my goals, my pursuits, my loves, my family, my passions, my joys, and my days.” In this act of surrender and handing over the pen comes a freedom and peace that’s even better than having your day unfold exactly the way you planned.

Word before World Plan your days remembering that your life is a vapor and eternity with Christ is forever. Live for what will last.

Grow in Grace As you jot down tasks in your planner or add them to your calendar, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. Surrender your plans to the sovereign will of God.