What plans do you have for your future? What do you see yourself doing in 5 or 10 years?
Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto/thesuperph
Having an answer to these questions are very important nowadays, mainly in our professional career. People are expected to have a concrete plan of how far they want to go in the corporate ladder and how they intend to get there.
I work in a major international company, it is not different there. However, I always have a hard time answering that question, not because I don’t know what I want to do, but because I know exactly what I want to do: I want to follow God’s plan. So I myself don’t have any specific plans. And I only know what He has planned for me when He lets me know about it.
That usually doesn’t sound like a proper answer to managers or HR people. But I must say that it never prevented me from getting farther than I expected in my career. I learned that if you truly trust God, having the “proper” answer to those questions doesn’t prevent Him from taking you where He wants you to be. Actually, I learned that I am the only one who can prevent God from working in my life, by not following His will.
God wants us to trust Him with our decisions, as James explained:
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.” (James 4:13-15)
As James says, we are used to making plans although we have no idea what will happen.
So you might ask me, “Do you mean I should plan nothing? I am in college, I need to plan my career. Or, I am a father/mother, I need to prepare for my children’s future”. What I’m saying is: let God do the planning. Let Him choose and plan your career and plan your children’s future, and just follow His guidance. You may plan the steps, but let Him plan the direction, the speed, the rhythm, when to stop and when to run.
As for me, I know where I want to be in the future, because I know where He wants me to be sometime in the future, geographically speaking. But I don’t know how He will get me there and I am not sure what He wants me to do when I get there. But I am preparing for whatever it is. That’s my part: I need to be ready. For He will take care of everything else, as Jesus promised:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (Matthew 6:25-27)
Give God the chance to take care of your future. And keep your eyes and ears and your heart open for His instructions.
This post is part of the “One Word at a Time Blog Carnival” hosted by Peter Pollock. Check out his blog for links to other posts that were written based on the word “future”.
I hear you. We always get funny looks when we say “we’re here until God tells to go somewhere else”. People just can’t understand that we need to be open for God’s leading. Great post! Blessings!
Mari-Anna, I see that you’ve been through that too. That’s one of the good things about the christian community: people that understand us. God bless you!
Yes, I remember that question well, and my answer was glib and not as precise as yours is. Following God’s plan for the future is what He wants us to do, one step at a time and not getting ahead of his leading. Today if I had to answer that question, I would think again and realize that time is short and what ever I do must be done for the Lord now. We should dream, plan and prepare, so that we are ready when he says, the door is open, walk through it.
Wise words, Hazel. Thank you!
Thank you for your kind comments on my Post. Blessings to YOU.
You are welcome, Hazel. I did love your poem, it was beautiful.
Thanks Cris – Wow this is such a needed message! We had to learn the hard way and hopefully the lasting way. The ultimate answer (as you wonderfully point out) is getting close to God to hear His voice – that is the only plan we can count on. Great Job Cris!
Thank you so much, Kevin, I appreciate it!
This is a great post! Exactly what I’ve come to the conviction to also. I don’t know where I’m going, but I’ll know when God gets me there.
Frank, thank you for visiting and for your comment, I appreciate it!
Our part is to be ready. Whew YES! Being ready, and willing to go with HIS plans.
Yes!
Anne, thank you again for your visit and comment!
I think I’m in the middle on this one. I’ve always had a tendency to overplan and expect specific outcomes. I realized that the root of that need was fear. If I didn’t know what was going to happen, it would freak me out.
On the other hand, I don’t want to go completely the other way and be irresponsible and put it on God saying, “Oh I’m not going to do anything, I’ll just wait until something drops out of the sky and I’ll know it’s from God.”
The balance I found is in Proverbs 16:9 “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” When I read this I feel like God was saying, “Go ahead and plan but keep your ears open because I will direct your path and establish your steps.”
Tony, thanks for your comment.
I didn’t mean to be irresponsible, but to trust Him with the decisions you have to make.
For example, talking about my job, if it was up to me, I probably would have changed to another department some years ago. I really wanted it.
But I prayed about it, and He told me it wasn’t time yet. So I stayed, although I was anxious for a change.
However, He gave me some awesome opportunities and recognition since then that I have to admit that my staying was the best decision.
I didn’t plan it, I actually didn’t want it, but He made it all work out perfectly. If someone had asked me then what were my plans, they would be rather different than what God chose to do, I must admit.
What i think is the key here is to keep the communication always open and listen to His plans, and do your best.
if you dont plan to succeed then you planned to fail
thanks for reminding us of the importance of planning
Yes, I agree that you must plan to succeed in everything you do, but don’t forget to let God show you the way.
Thanks for commenting, Farouk.