Make a Plan
MUSIC BLOG
JULY 17, 2025
Make a Plan!
Today is a gift from God. I know that many of us begin our day with this thought. Isn’t it astounding how quickly things can go awry? We start out trusting God and then we get an unexpected bill that throws us into a tailspin. It might be that we begin our day with a great time of bible study and prayer and as quickly as we say Amen, we get a call from our doctor with bad news. Life changes so quickly that its hard to manage what to do sometimes.
Proverbs 15:22
ESV
22 Without counsel, plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.
My blog today isn’t long or profound, but it might just give us all something to think about. I’d like to use a couple of circumstances that I’ve been living through. In this scripture, Solomon offers us advice that, if we abide by it, we will achieve success in life. Why is it that so many people struggle and fail? I believe we can attribute much of our failure to one word: pride. Pride goeth before a fall. Pride was Lucifer’s sin. Pride strikes us hard and leaves disaster in it’s wake. “Pride?” you say? How can that be? Think back to times of struggle in your life. I dare say that you stayed much longer in that difficult situation because you neglected to ask anyone for advice. Probably if you did ask you chose not to abide by their advice. Americans love the idea of being a lone ranger. We consider self-sufficiency to be next to godliness, not cleanliness, as sometimes overstated. We think we got ourselves into this mess, and we can get ourselves out of it. Every American is a one-man band. It’s not supposed to be like that. God has placed people around each one of us who know more than we do on a given topic or have had life experiences that can help us navigate through the hard times. Pride, however, keeps us from reaching out. Many times, I thought I knew what the best thing was, but I neglected to include others in the equation. I doubted that someone could love me selflessly enough to give me proper advice, and I doubted my ability to follow their advice.
So, the question begs, “Did God leave me?” No, God did not leave me. God did not forsake me. When I wavered and was inconsistent, God was faithful. God cannot act contrary to His nature.
My question to you today is, “What are you attempting on your own without seeking counsel from others?” Are you looking at going back to school, a career change, building a house, going on a mission trip, beginning a ministry to the homeless or helping autistic children learn to read? You may want to build an after-school childcare business. How do you begin? Do you just go online and research? Unfortunately, many people feel that is the best and only way to begin. We live in a world where the greatest fear many people have is a face-to-face conversation. We don’t want anyone else’s input. We want to pick and choose our truth. If someone has had a struggle with something we are attempting, we reject that person’s input because they didn’t do it right. Is it any wonder that most start up businesses fail? With many counselors, we have much success. Solomon’s words were never truer and never more pertinent.
Please, don’t begin any new venture without seeking the advice from someone you respect. Listen carefully to what they say. Read God’s word, listen to His advice. Pray, Get another person’s advice. In doing so you will guarantee success.
Blessings,
Marty