TOMORROW WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF (A Rejoinder)

Dearly Beloved, TOMORROW WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF (A Rejoinder) “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. What is the first thing you will do? Won’t you sit down and figure out how much it will cost and if you have enough money to pay for it? ...What will a king do if he has only ten thousand soldiers to defend himself against a king who is about to attack him with twenty thousand soldiers? Before he goes out to battle, won’t he first sit down and decide if he can win?” (Luke 14:28, 31 CEV). “Share your plans with the Lord, and you will succeed” (Proverbs 16:3 CEV). “Tomorrow Will Take Care of Itself” was the topic my devotional message last week. The thrust of the message is rather than worrying about what one will eat, drink or wear in the future, one should trust in God who created the universe and is still sustaining it and everyone (including everything) in it. Among the people who responded to the message, two people specifically disagreed with me. They argued that the future is not an agent of change and that one has to plan for the future so that the future will bring what we desire. I agree partially with such arguments. Jesus Christ did not teach about blind and inactive trust in God about the future. He taught that we should trust in God (see Matthew 6:25-34), but He also taught about proper planning for the future especially when one wants to embark on significant projects that go beyond the basic needs of life (see Luke 14:28-33). The popular adage, "One who fail to plan is planning to fail," supports His teaching here about proper planning. There are other Bible passages that support proper planning (see Genesis 41:34-36; Proverbs 6:6-8; 11:14; 15:22; 21:5; 24:27; 1 Timothy 5:8). This does not mean that God cannot take care of these projects without our proper planning, but in most cases, God will not do what man can do for himself. God will only make anyone who trusts in Him to succeed in his planning (see Proverbs 3:5-6; 16:1, 3, 9; 19:21; 20:4). So, God expects us to trust in Him, but we have to have proper planning for all our endeavours plus this trust in God to have desirable success. While it is good to trust in God in any project you want to start, it far better to plan ahead and commit your planning to God who will help you to succeed. Trust in God has its place while proper planning has its place. One should not overshadow the other. In His service, Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor). Prayer Point: Pray for the grace to always commit your proper planning to God to be able to succeed in all your endeavours.