A goal without a plan is just a wish
Today I’m being slightly rebellious and ignoring the instruction of my Bible college lecturer who, on Monday, said, “If you’re going to preach from Proverbs, don’t preach using only one verse.” It’s not complete rebellion though because:
The general principle I’m going to share is seen scripture-wide, not just in this verse.
This isn’t a sermon.
Now that that’s cleared up, let’s get into this…
“The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.” (Proverbs 4:7)
Now, at first, this verse seems quite confusing. ‘If I knew what wisdom was, don’t you think I’d have it?’ one might be tempted to say. However, that’s the whole point, I think. We’ve got to stop over thinking everything so much. I mean, we’ve really got to. Over thinking can paralyse us, make us inactive, prevent us from taking that next step, give us too long to listen to our fears and, therefore, bottle what we’re called to pursue.
Yes, there’s wisdom in strategy too and of course, it pays not to make rash decisions sometimes. But equally, if we want Jesus to give us something, we’re told to ask. If we want to find Him, we’re told to seek Him and if we want Him to open the door to us, we’ve got to knock on it first. (Matthew 7:7)
If we want to start something, we’ve actually got to start it. If we believe we’ve been called by God for His plans and purposes, we must answer that call. If we have dreams but never actually put them into action, they will very much remain, dreams.
It’s been said that ‘A goal without a plan is just a wish.’ Ouch.
It’s so true, though. If we’re not out there, taking the opportunities God has presented us with, we’re missing out on something. If we choose to feed our fears rather than our faith regarding getting something off the ground, we’re going to find ourselves in the exact same place we were in when we began.
In thinking along these lines, I’m reminded of the story of the parable of the talents, which can be found in Matthew 25:14-30. In summary, a master gives three of his servants some money to look after while he goes away. On his return, he finds that the servant he gave five ‘talents’ to has made five more and doubled his money. This is what is said to him:
“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” (Matthew 25:21)
The servant who was given two talents has also doubled his money and he gets the same treatment as the first. So, what of the third servant?
Unfortunately, he was scared of what the master might do had he have lost his money (1 talent) and he, therefore, buries it. The master is furious and calls him ‘slothful’ and ‘wicked’ to name but a few of the choice terms he has for him…
The message in all of this is, to me, clear. God has given us the skills, passions, circumstances etc. which we currently find ourselves in/with for hugely divine purposes. How are we investing in the Kingdom of God with what we’ve been given? Are we letting our dreams get stagnant, are we wondering where to start?
We should take wisdom from the author of the Proverbs verse we began with and start with the ‘getting’, putting one foot in front of the other. As we walk out in faith, seeking Jesus on our journey, may He strengthen, embolden and equip us for every step we take.