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Plans, Purposes and Priorities

“I didn’t accomplish a single thing I set out to do today!” How many times have we stewed in the frustration of such seeming futility? Whether self-discipline came up short or interruptions stretched out long, events turned out to be nothing like we’d expected and we fret the failure of our plan. But what if execution were actually the least of our problems, that a glaring omission in our plan rendered today’s to-do list a frustration from its conception?

Plans follow purpose. This is why organizations articulate mission statements—to establish one shared sense of purpose for its people and a focal point for the supporting strategies by which they accomplish it. Yet while any number of leadership books extol the value of alignment, virtually all of them overlook this indispensable Biblical truth: “Many are the purposes in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”1 We may have dutifully conceived plans that follow our pursuits, but if ours do not sync with God’s, and if our daily demands override His clarion call, we will never be completely satisfied, nor our purpose fully realized. For at the other end of what we might regard as an interruption is often a person struggling with a need—be it physical, emotional or spiritual in nature. We’ve been in their place before, and how grateful we were when someone sacrificed their comfort and convenience to share our burden and lighten our load. Perhaps they, like we, felt the frustration of a less productive day, but we thanked God for His love poured out through these, His obedient ones, as they helped to overcome our troubles.

For those of us who like structure and order to our day, ceding our agendas over to the higher and broader purposes of God can feel messy and at times downright burdensome. As Solomon wrote, “A man’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way?”2 But on the other side of obedience is blessing, not only for those who cut in on our calendars, but ultimately for us, too. So we watch for God’s daily directions—His divine appointments—and prioritize His purposes over our plans. Life is more fruitful this way.

Father, we confess our plans cater to ourselves and overlook Your higher purposes. Fill us with Your Spirit, that we would hear your call today and give ourselves over to your plans and purposes, that others would be blessed and You would be glorified. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 Proverbs 19:21
2 Proverbs 20:24

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The S Word

When I was a mid-level manager, a work colleague shared this philosophy with me: “When senior management asks my opinion, I owe it to them to be as honest as I can be, and when senior management makes a decision, I owe it to them to back it one-hundred percent.” I had long held this conviction as well, but had never articulated it so memorably, so from then on, I adopted my co-worker’s pithy summary to convey the same value. Reflecting on his comment years later, it occurred to me that my associate had embraced in honor something we often reject as humiliation—submission of one to another.

Submission can be difficult for us: it dampens our dreams and overrules our plans; it pricks our pride and deflates our egos. But being brought low in humility is a divine blessing in disguise—the first step in realigning our will to God’s will. Paul taught early believers that “The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.”1 Pride actually separates us from something very good: submission to God’s ways that are good and right. The apostle continued, “But those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires . . . [and the mind] governed by the Spirit is life and peace.”2 And aren’t these two things—abundant life and liberating peace—what everyone seeks? We find them through submission of our will and ways to the will ways of God.

“Our call is not to succeed, but to be obedient,” reads one of the tenets of the Kairos Prison Ministry. Stated differently, when God makes a decision, we owe it to Him to back it one-hundred percent. This is the difference between self-will and submission, and as we obey, God will bring the success; He will receive the glory. May we humbly live this day in the confidence of submission.

Father, Your ways are always best. We sacrifice our own and submit ourselves to You. To You be the glory. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 Romans 8:7-8
2 Romans 8:6

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Unsung Heroes

“Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of … William Dawes?” 

There was a time when every school child knew by heart at least the first stanza of “Paul Revere’s Ride,” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s classic ode to the Revolutionary era patriot who bears its name. Its galloping cadence was spellbinding, and the poet’s masterful tale telling held us breathless until the end. Yet history shows there were two freedom riders that April night in 1775—Paul Revere and William Dawes. Of the two, it was actually Dawes who successfully reached Lexington with the news of the invading army; his more notable counterpart was caught by British soldiers. Why, then, do we not know of Dawes? Simply this: Longfellow wrote about Revere.

The Bible is filled with historic accounts of God accomplishing great things through its notable heroes. We think of His miracles worked through Peter, John and Paul, for instance—healing diseases and raising people from the dead. Yet serving God in obedience doesn’t always take on, shall we say, such Biblical proportions. Consider those whom Paul greeted in his letter to the church in Rome and how he commended them. There was Mary, “who worked very hard for you”1; Tryphena, Tryphosa and Persis likewise “worked very hard in the Lord.”2 Rufus was “chosen in the Lord” and his mother was “like a mother to me,”3 the apostle fondly recalled. Then there was Apelles, “tested and approved in Christ.”4 Though Paul’s co-workers would not generate the same press as his own, there they were, working hard alongside of him, humbly doing what they were called to do. Were we in their place, might we have deprecated our own Kingdom contribution, seemingly small by comparison? Yet Paul genuinely applauded his co-workers, and he treasured their partnership in the Lord.

Sometimes we hold ourselves to a false double standard, denigrating ourselves for that which we would exalt in others. Do we belittle ourselves, for instance, for not engaging hands-on in a particular ministry as others may, even though we financially underwrite the cause? Then how ironic that when we are the ones actively engaged in ministry, we find ourselves humbled by those whose role is to battle for it invisibly on their knees in prayer. Here’s the thing: God calls us to take up our role, regardless of how we regard it or who else knows about it. For now, only God knows the impact of our obedience to His call, and for now that is enough.

Father, You call us into action. Open our eyes to all that You have for us to do today, and no matter how great or humble we might perceive our role, give us hearts that humbly trust and gladly obey. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 Romans 16:6
2 Romans 16:12
3 Romans 16:13
4 Romans 16:10