“Look here, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.’ How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow?” (James 4:13–14 NLT)

The Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” If you’ve ever tried to, say, stick to an itinerary on a family vacation, you likely know what he’s talking about.

An old Yiddish expression brings this idea into the spiritual realm: “Man plans, and God laughs.” Or, to put it another way, “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.”

That’s not strictly true, of course. It’s not unspiritual to plan. In fact, it’s very spiritual. Proverbs 6:6–8 says, “Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter” (NLT). Check out the ants before you step on them. They work hard. They’re always busy. Little ants moving big stuff around, getting ready for the future.

Our nation was built by planners who worked hard, following the example of the ants, to make their plans a reality. We must continue that legacy of forward thinking and hard work. That’s what makes our country strong and prosperous. The apostle Paul warns in Romans 12:11, “Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically” (NLT).

And include Him in your plans.

That’s the unspoken part of the old Yiddish saying. God doesn’t laugh at all plans—just the ones that don’t factor in Him and His will.

In James 4, James is talking to Christians who had done quite well in business. He commends them for their success but reminds them to keep God at the forefront of their lives. He wants to make sure that they never lose sight of the truth that everything they accomplished was due to God.

And that advice goes for us, too. When we make plans, we must make sure that God is at the center of them. We must figure His will into everything we do. We start by studying His Word. We familiarize ourselves with God’s will—and what it looked like in the lives of Bible characters. We look at how God figured into their daily lives. We examine how the heroes of the faith reacted when their plans suddenly changed. We include our spouse and family in the process and seek their input and wisdom.

And then we make sure that our planning process begins, continues, and ends with prayer. We talk to God about our plans. We ask Him for wisdom and strength to carry them out. We pay attention to the prompting and guidance of the Holy Spirit inside us.

And finally, we acknowledge the possibility that success—at least, as we picture it—may not be God’s plan at a given moment. He may very well allow us to experience a season of struggle. We need to prepare ourselves for challenges and setbacks. We need to stay close to Him so that our faith doesn’t waver. We need to remind ourselves that in the big picture of things, trials can be just as valuable to us as success. Remember, God’s ultimate plan for us is not that we become wealthy or successful. It’s that we become humble servants who bring glory to Him.

Reflection question: How does God’s will figure into your personal plans for the future?

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