Back then in the days, in high school and also the university, I have a practice when writing an examination. The practise was to spend the first couple of minutes going through all the exam questions and checking the ones I could do and how well I could do them. I would also take time to do some sketchy answers to each question at the back of my answer scripts.

If you saw me few minutes into the examination, you would think I have a problem, you would think I’m stuck or something. Sometimes, my friends would be eyeing me, wondering if all was well. Even the invigilators would be perambulating around my table checking if I was up to something.

The trick is this; once I have been able to sort out all the questions and laid out the master plan for solving them, I would start answering the questions and won’t stop until I’m done! With that, I had good grades all through school, had no reason to be stuck or to cheat and I was also able to maximize every of my time in the examination.

What does this tell us today? Planning is very important in every endeavour of life. The time spent in planning is not actually time wasted but time saved. Planning is a mark of wisdom and maturity (Proverbs 22:3). Planning helps you to maximize time. When you plan, you have taking time to consider all your options and to know where your limited energy and resources should be deployed (Proverbs 21:20). Planning saves you from avoidable mistakes. I think it was Abraham Lincoln who said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” There is wisdom in that simple statement.

God does not want you to operate in an emergency mode every now and then. When you look at some people’s life, they are always under pressure, always acting as though they are in one form of crisis or the other; they always have an emergency to deal with. If it’s not in finance, it would be in the area of their health. Sometimes, it would be in their career, academics or business, they always have deadlines to meet and that they must do fast! They have not enjoyed rest, peace and ease in life. They have not learnt the principle and power of planning.

Friend, our God is a God of planning. The whole of creation is a testimony to how organized God is. “O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all: the earth is full of your riches” (Psalms 104:24). God took His time to make all that man would need to survive on earth before He ever made man. The same goes for every other creature; there’s order in creation. And when you check all through the scriptures, you would see this pattern of planning and order in the things that God did. If you serve a God that is this planned and orderly, how then do you think you can go on and succeed in life without adequate planning?

As you go through the remaining days of this strategic year, I want you to bring planning back into your life! Planning is not an enemy of Faith; planning actually gives strength to your faith. Plan your finances. Plan your marriage, ministry, business etc. Some couples even need to do Family Planning to help take control of their child birth; God is not against it. He gave us wisdom in science so we can have a better and organized life. Don’t leave everything to God or fate, employ divine wisdom to take charge of your own destiny. It has been said that, “any Faith that pushes all responsibility to God is an irresponsible Faith.” Make your Faith responsible. Make your Faith work. Plan your life and maximize your destiny! You will succeed!

© ‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria