Approaching Goal Setting and Planning

If we're told in the Bible not to worry about tomorrow, and that God is in control of everything, then where is the place for setting goals for tomorrow and in the distant future? Planning for the future is good, but we need to have the right mindset, one that is willing to be flexible and adjust with circumstances.

We can't see the future or all the details of a situation, so we have to make plans based on our limited view of things at times. For example, we can't always predict the economy or the weather. So it may turn out that a goal or plan won't be accomplished the way we'd like it to be or we might have to give up a goal or plan we had.

The good news is God has a view of everything and is an all-powerful God. So it's really in his hands. It can be humbling and hard when our plans aren't met because it doesn't match what God allows to happen. But that's when it's time to acknowledge God's goodness and that, since he is good, what has passed is working toward a glorious plan that God has for our lives and for his glory.

The good part of goal setting and planning is it's something to aim for, and it helps us to aim to do what we feel matters the most. Sometimes we can focus on one thing so much that we forget other things we wanted to focus on, so a list written down or in our head may help us to remember.

Sometimes we have to wait on a plan we have, and while we wait, we can be reminded of the other things that are goals--or things we find that are worthwhile and fun to do that we wrote down in the past.

We need to be humble and know that we aren't perfect and therefore our plans aren't either. It's fine since we can't see everything and we are growing and learning, but when we see any flaws in a goal or plan, then it's good and wise to adjust or let go of certain goals and not be hard on ourself.

Futility

Life is often difficult. Sometimes it is difficult because our hard work is easily thrown down the drain.

It is often that many steps of hard work can be thrown away carelessly. Sometimes we are the ones who throw away our hard work.

Sometimes others throw away our hard word. Sometimes it is just disease or the force of nature.

The end reality is always that the world is subject to futility. People feel this is not right.

It should not be such. It was never intended to be such although man in the beginning chose it to be such.

Such is the cost of going against God. To go against God is in futile. We cannot defeat God.

We cannot frustrate him. We cannot slow him down.

At the cross it appeared God had lost, but he had won. Such is life if God has a plan no one can stand in his way.

We can at times avoid the will of God and run and hide for a moment, but we cannot stop the will of an all-powerful God.

Freighting? Not so much if we will trust him. He is good.

But his goodness is conditional to righteousness. Jesus’ righteousness.

He has told us how to obtain it by faith. There are always two choices or two paths.

We can be for God or against God. The choice is simple really if we believe the bibles account of God.

Some people have felt as if God does not want them. But God already says he wishes to bring all those who knock at his door into the kingdom.

Trusting God

Isaiah 2:22: "Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?"

In other words why should we trust in our own power?  It is God who upholds the universe with its trillion trillions of stars by the power of his word.  Should we not regard God who upholds each second and thus enables each breath that all of humanity takes, every has taken, and ever will take!

The World Cannot Imagine an Infinitely Big God, So It Creates a Limited God

The problem with the world today is that it cannot imagine an infinitely big God, so it creates a limited God.  The world cannot imagine the beauty of God, so it settles for the beauty of the world.  The world cannot imagine that God is infinitely satisfying, so it settles for the finitely satisfying.  The world cannot imagine that God requires their love and not just their acknowledgement, so they do not love him and head down the path of death.  The world cannot imagine that true freedom is freedom for righteousness, so it considers slavery to sin to be freer.  The world cannot imagine that the steadfast love of the Lord is better than life, so it clings to death.  The world cannot image the hideousness of sin, so it takes sin very lightly.  The world cannot imagine the infinite stakes in life, so it takes heaven and hell lightly.  The world cannot imagine that to suffer for Christ is better than comfort for oneself, so it fails to risk.  The world cannot imagine that God will dance over the righteous, so it creates a God who is dispassionate about obedience.  The problem with the world is that it cannot imagine and that it does not wish to imagine and that it cannot listen and that it will not listen. 

Marveling at the Infinite Wisdom of God

Two things in the past two days made me marvel at the infinite wisdom of God.  The first was a game of go.  So is normally played on a 19 by 19 line board having 361 intersections. This would give the possible games to be somewhere around 361! (!=factorial (4!= 4x3x2x1)) (not sure exactly how accurate this is it could be but it is at least a breathtakingly huge number). Anyway I decided to play a 37 by 37 go game for fun to see how it would be.  I had absolutely no idea how any stone related to any other on the board. It so blew my mind away how impossible it would ever be for humans to master.  And then I though this is simple for God.  He has known every possibility of this game from all eternity.  This 1369! challenge is far simpler to God than tic-tac-toe could ever be to any human.

The other thing I marveled at was how I was sweeping up tons of dust today at work.  And I though there is not one piece of dust that is not in exactly the spot that God wanted it.  Considering the incredible amount of dust that was on the ground and flying around and being scattered by construction workers and being kicked and flying in the air and being pushed by brooms that is mind blowing also.  In fact consider all of the universe and there is not one atom that is not under our creators control.  Such a thought is utterly breathtaking.  It is also very good news for Christians as humans are utterly fickle and would never turn to God on their own, and because God is totally free and totally in charge and thus totally God centered which is very good news for believers, and because God is most glorious when he is most free, and for many other reasons predestination is very good news.