Exposition

It is said that ‘failing to plan is planning to fail’. As simple as the saying may be, it has inherent lessons to be applied to our daily lives. It can be deduced from the creation story in Genesis 1 that God is a master planner. The process and timing of creating specific elements of creation attest to the careful roll-out of a well-crafted and well-thought-through implementation of ideas and plans. As someone created in the image of God, you can plan and carefully see your plans being fulfilled. It lies in your power and responsibility to get them done. Purpose in your heart and translate it into reality to plan out the coming year, trusting in the grace of God available to you.

In today’s passage, Jesus shares a parable that draws attention to planning and decision-making. A man who wants to build a tower first has to sit down and plan if he has enough to complete the building considering all his resources and support. Also, a king should sit down and consider whether he has adequate force for a battle against another king or not. These two scenarios by Jesus Christ have in-depth lessons to be drawn to help us sit down and plan for the year ahead. Many Christians have failed to plan their lives and have regretted terribly regarding their academics, profession, relationship and financial lives.

Many have had a shipwreck of their faith, aspirations and hope for a better future due to the lack of or poor planning. In entering the year 2024, it is important to sit down and plan for the year just as indicated in the parables concerning the man building a tower or a king readying for battle. In planning, you should make specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound projections. It will be appropriate to write out the plans and purpose in your heart with a disciplined mindset to achieve them. This is because, until written out, plans remain only ideas in your head. The plans should, therefore, include what you want to do (activities), where you want to reach (targets) and what you seek to achieve (objectives).

Properly planning for the year will direct your focus on the essentials and protect you from fleeting pressures and ad-hoc decisions. From Jesus’ parable, the king upon seeing he is unable to go to the battle will send a delegation to discuss the terms of peace, an indication of prudent decision-making based on effective planning. Do not risk an entire year by not planning, for even our Saviour has given us a reason to plan effectively for our lives. You should not forget that planning should be done prayerfully with total dependence on God.