The Power of Planning

The Power of Planning

By Apostle Felix

27  And anyone who comes to me must be willing to share my cross and experience it as his own, or he cannot be considered to be my disciple.
28  So don’t follow me without considering what it will cost you. For who would construct a house before first sitting down to estimate the cost to complete it?
29  Otherwise he may lay the foundation and not be able to finish. The neighbors will ridicule him, saying,
30  ‘Look at him! He started to build but couldn’t complete it!’
31  “Have you ever heard of a commander who goes out to war without first sitting down with strategic planning to determine the strength of his army to win the war against a stronger opponent?
32  If he knows he doesn’t stand a chance of winning the war, the wise commander will send out delegates to ask for the terms of peace.
33  Likewise, unless you surrender all to me, giving up all you possess, you cannot be one of my disciples.

Luke 14: 27 – 33

Dr. Myles Munroe defined planning and I quote, ‘A deliberate and proactive process of defining a desired future and outlining the steps to achieve it, rooted in a clear sense of purpose and faith in God’s plan.’ Planning is so powerful and important to managing the unexpected. The failure to plan is actually planning to fail, said Benjamin Franklin.  Life is full of surprises and in order to minimize the impact of those surprises is to plan. Planning can be such a challenging feat in life. This is because planning is based on foresight. Foresight is the ability to recognize opportunities and possible risks, and engage the future today by planning. Oftentimes, we do not want to go the rigorous process of thinking. Thinking is not as easy as some may think. It is hard work. God is a planner. He declares the end from the beginning. He cannot be taken by surprise.

9  Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
10  Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: 

Isaiah 46: 9, 10

God is never taken by surprise by what happens around us and in our lives. The fall of man did not take God by surprise. The redemption plan was not an afterthought. God had already planned redemption before the fall of man. That’s why redemption had no loopholes through out the four thousand years. The revelation was consistent from generation to generation. They all had one message, which was the coming of the Messiah. Redemption was so well planned that the devil could not frustrate it at all.

8  And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Revelation 13: 8

The angel visited the young lady, by the name of Mary and told her that the plan of God of bringing His Seed in the earth is possible. Adequate and wise planning makes any project possible. Man is an amazing being. He has been created in the image of God and after the likeness of God. Planning is manifesting the likeness of God. Where there is good planning, there is order and creativity. Africa is not poor, it’s lack of planning that has caused so much chaos and disorder in the continent. Every chaos and disorder can be traced to the failure of planning. China is developing at that phenomenal rate because of planning. Planning also commands dominion. A man who has a plan, knows the direction. He is the one that has control over the future. The failure to plan is to surrender your life to the one with a plan.

Planning moves you from hope to faith. Hope is good, but faith is the best. Planning is a demonstration of faith in the possibility power of God. God sees faith when He sees planning.

1  Go ahead and make all the plans you want, but it’s the Lord who will ultimately direct your steps.
Proverbs 16: 1

God can only lead where there is a plan. Therefore, do not plan according to your limited resources but according to God’s abundance and possibility power. In Luke 14, Jesus talked about planning before you consider engaging in any project. He was in fact talking about the cost of following Him as a disciple. In following Christ, one must consider the cost. The cost of following Christ comes with losing something. When you decide to follow Christ be willing to commit all to the Lord. Planning makes you to fully trust in God for the provision. You have not planned because you have, but you have planned because God is able. A things are possible with Him.

37  Not one promise from God is empty of power, for nothing is impossible with God!”
Luke 1: 37