Plan of Action

(Recommended Reading:  Joshua 1:1-9 Message translation)

Have you ever had a job or led a volunteer effort when you needed to put together a “Plan of Action”?

I have.  When I was still working in sales, I would have to put together a list of goals for the next year, then a Plan of Action on how I could/would accomplish those goals.

As Christians, do we need a Plan of Action?  I believe that we do, otherwise we may just stumble through life unable to accomplish what God would have us do.  OH!  God has things He wants us to do??  We can’t just believe Jesus is our Savior and then go to heaven at the end of our life??  Seriously?!  Yes, seriously!  

So, we may need to set ourselves some goals.  First, we should aspire to spend some time each day in prayer.  If this isn’t something you’ve been doing regularly and don’t really feel comfortable with it,  determine to set aside just a few minutes each day to pray – then, just talk to God as if He were a friend sitting there in the room with you.  (In reality, that’s basically what it is, because He is your friend and His presence is always with you.)  As we pray, we should express our thankfulness for all of the blessings that we have in our life.  Then we can move from there to ask for things that we and others need – guidance to make decisions; help for problems we may be facing; healing; etc.  

Second, we should have a desire to study our Plan of Action.  What is that?  It is the Bible – God’s Word that will encourage, teach, inspire, guide us.  A Plan of Action isn’t worth a lot if it just sits on a shelf or lays on a table never to be studied or considered.  Joshua 1:7-9 (Message):  “Make sure you carry out The Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don’t get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you’re going. And don’t for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you’ll get where you’re going; then you’ll succeed. Haven’t I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged.  God, your God, is with you every step you take.”    

If we think about and meditate on what we read, believe it, then follow it, the Word tells us we will succeed.  We are assured that God will be with us every step of the way.  Sure, the road might have some twists and turns in it along the way, but we shouldn’t let that discourage us.  Our enemy, the devil, is likely trying to test us and get us off track – but our God is more powerful than Satan any day of the week.  We must just hang tough – don’t be timid – tell the devil to get behind you that God is your leader, not him!

The key to achieving goals and our Plan of Action is obedience to what is laid out before us.  This is a quote – not exactly word-for-word – from Dr. David Jeremiah:  “We should not rebel against God by leaving off obedience because we’re afraid He might ask us to do something we don’t want to do.  Nor should we ever get discouraged by what He asks us to do because He always has our best interest in mind.”

Also keep in mind that changes in our society, our culture, our habits are not excuses to allow compromise on our Plan of Action.  We should just make it a part of our daily life, leaning on it for all decisions and all challenges. *

Determine today to set those goals for a prayer time and time to study God’s Word – your Plan of Action.  Then work toward obedience and enjoy what will come your way.

Written by Karran Martin – April 15, 2023

*Additional thoughts from Dr. David Jeremiah

[All bold emphasis is mine]