Structured Plans or Spontaneous Steps?

Do you need a plan, or do you prefer to be spontaneous? Neither is wrong and in fact, your hardwiring likely results in your leaning one way or the other. What about when we apply those pendulum swings to faith? Do you see planning and executing a plan as faith in action, or do you see flying by the seat of your pants as faith? This is a really good question to consider. 

What does it mean to live by faith?

We are trusting in a power greater than our own. God is Almighty, the Creator of all things, and the Sustainer of the world. We cannot see past our present and trust God, who sees all, knows all, and controls all. Living by faith means that we seek His will, pray for direction, trust His promises, and act based on the limited information available. Consider all the heroes of the faith described in Hebrews 11. They acted in faith based on God’s promises with no way of knowing the outcome. 

What does it not mean to live by faith?

You have been gifted with a mind and abilities.  Living by faith does not mean you fail to plan. In fact, Proverbs 16:8 and Luke 14:28 speak to the wisdom of planning but contrast our plans with God’s power. I’m grateful for Esther’s action in Esther 5:1-14. She had prayed and fasted, and the time came for action, which clearly was a developed and strategic plan. She invited the King to a feast that she had already started preparing. 

Living by faith does not require laying aside our experience. In fact, that is where wisdom and discernment are evidenced. May we learn to lean not on our own understanding. May we use our experience and skills to plan well. May we trust in the Lord when things don’t go according to plan. May we walk by faith and not by sight.  May we be courageous to take a risk.