It’s so easy to make plans without even thinking for ourselves these days. Friends text us about meeting up, our jobs require us to complete endless tasks, and taking care of our families can make it hard to schedule time for ourselves. But did you know that Jesus wants us to plan with Him as well? 

Jeremiah 29:11 states ” For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

This scripture is a great reference on why we should plan with Jesus in mind. It even states how He knows the plans for us, but we will never know what those plans are if we are not making time to plan with Jesus. 

Our schedules can become so busy that it makes it hard sometimes to squeeze Jesus in, but our schedules should be wrapped around Jesus instead and not the other way around. 

Here are 5 steps to better help you plan with Jesus in mind: 

1. COMMIT TO A SCHEDULE TO MEET WITH JESUS

The same way we have planners, calendars, and phones to keep up with dates for work, events, and more is the same way we should use these tools to spend time with Jesus.

 Proverbs 16:3 states “Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.”

That word commit means “to give in charge or entrust”. This scripture is a command for us to let Jesus have His way with our plans but that requires us to take action that shows we believe He will make our plans succeed. We can’t just say I want to spend time with Jesus but in our actions, we are watching T.V, working for our own desires, or always on social media. 

One great way to take action is starting with writing this scripture down or making it as a wallpaper in your phone to motivate and remind you to make time to plan with Jesus. 

Another great way to take action could be as simple as marking off your calendar that every weekday evening from 8:00 pm – 9:00 p m, I will use this block to plan with Jesus. You can then set these reminders via your phone or with an alarm. 

2. FIND AN ENVIRONMENT WITHOUT DISTRACTIONS

One of the biggest reasons it can be so hard to find time to plan with Jesus is that we can get easily distracted. With us knowing this, it’s important to find and set up an environment without distractions. 

1st Corinthians 10:13 states ” The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” 

This scripture talks about how temptations will always come but how our God is always faithful and will always provide us with a way out. With this in mind, I challenge you to think about some distractions in your life and list some ways you can flee from those distractions. 

For instance, if it’s your phone, leave it downstairs or in another room. If it’s your room because looking at your bed makes you want to go to sleep or someone else is in your room with you, try finding another place to set up as your meeting place with Jesus. This could be your closet, the car, your office area, or even the dining room table. Wherever it is, make sure it’s an environment without any distractions. 

3. BRING TOOLS AND RESOURCES

Think about whenever you have a meeting for your job or your business. You bring tools to the meeting that will help you take notes, write ideas down, or schedule more dates. In this same way may we come ready with tools and resources to help us be prepared to write down the plans Jesus may reveal to us through the Holy Spirit. 

Habakkuk 2:1- 2 states, “I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how he will answer my complaint. Then the Lord said to me, “Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.”

In this scripture, we see that Habakkuk went to a specific area to hear from the Lord after he made a complaint to him through prayer. However, when the Lord answered Habakkuk, he replied telling him to write it down so whenever he does share the vision God gave him, anyone could follow it.

There is a vision God wants to share with all of us to carry but trying to remember the vision by memory can put us at risk of forgetting the vision so bring your bible, sticky notes, journals, notepads, planners, and more to be ready to write down and receive what the Lord may reveal to you.

 

4. PRAY AS YOU PLAN WITH JESUS

Prayer is a gift from God that gives us a way to communicate with Him daily. It’s so important to not only pray and start planning but also, it’s important to wait and listen to a response from the Holy Spirit. 

 

1 John 5:14 states, “And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.”

It’s such a beautiful thing to know that not only does God hear us but will also give us a response to our prayers. Communication is a two-way street so we should not be the only ones talking when going to God. God wants to respond and talk back to us. 

It’s always great to start with prayer and end with prayer but open up your planning session to pray in between as well. I know I like to pray whenever I get stuck on something or searching for more clarity before I move to the next task. Our God is ready to communicate and help us plan so talk it out with Him.

5. BE CONSISTENT

 

This last step is more so to remind you the importance of building consistency. Our goal should be to spend time with Jesus daily so we can always be ready and equipped to hear His plans for us. 

John 15:5 states, “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

This scripture truly points back to the importance of planning with Jesus. As the scripture states, we produce much fruit when we choose to remain in Him. Remain  means “to continue”. 

May we continue to make the time to plan with Jesus daily. May we continue to spend time with Him in environments that are without distractions. May we continue to bring tools and resources to write out the plans He may share with us, and may we continue to pray as we plan. 

As the scripture states, you will produce much fruit by remaining in Him as you choose to plan with Him daily. I pray this blog has blessed you and encouraged you to plan with Jesus in mind. 

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