God is the Master Planner
The Lord (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) maps out His eternal plans of creation, providence, and salvation and then He carries out those plans in His perfect way and timing. Scripture says: The plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations… I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you with My eye upon you… For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Psalm 33:11, 32:8; Jeremiah 29:11)
We Need to Plan Too
The Lord created humankind (male and female) in His own image and likeness to imitate Him in caring for God’s creation. That includes planning. Proverbs says: The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.1
Some Scriptures on Preparation and Discipline
- In Genesis, the Lord directed Joseph to store up part of the food produced in Egypt during seven years of abundance to prepare for the upcoming seven years of famine.2
- By faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. Noah may have taken over 50 years of planning and working to build the ark!3
- Jesus said: Don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, “There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!”4
- Christ said: A servant who knows what the master wants, but isn’t prepared and doesn’t carry out those instructions, will be severely punished.5
Many more Scriptures could be mentioned, but that’s enough for now.
Productive Paranoia
James C. “Jim” Collins (born 1958) is an American author, consultant, and lecturer on business sustainability and growth. Many of his writings echo Jesus’ Scripture wisdom. Collins writes about “Productive Paranoia” and asserts: “The only mistakes you can learn from are the ones you survive.”6
Productive Paranoia doesn’t mean walking around scared, afraid to take action, or suspicious. It means constantly asking “What If” and getting ready to respond to danger, obstacles, and threats. Anticipating and planning for potential challenges and disasters is critical to success and is frequently taught in the Bible.
Proverbs says: A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. (NLT) A sensible person sees danger and takes cover; the inexperienced keep going and are punished. (CSB) (Proverbs 27:12)7
Race to the South Pole
Jim Collins recounts the true story of a great dogsled race to the South Pole in 1912 between Roald (Norway) and Robert Scott (England). Both explorers and their teams set out from Antarctica toward the South Pole. They raced the same distance, in the same weather, but only one team survived and won. Scott and his team all died from a combination of exhaustion, starvation, and extreme cold.
They were 11 miles shy of the final supply depot, but falling short meant death. Historians describe Scott’s planning as haphazard and flawed, lacking foresight, preparedness, prudence, caution, and carefulness. Scott fell into the “planning fallacy,” underestimating the time and effort needed to finish the race and live. Maybe he was optimistic, without being realistic.
The Secret to Survival
Amundsen won because he was methodical and meticulously prepared. He was fanatical about training and meeting his daily traveling goals despite bad weather. He focused on an intermediate 20 mile goal every day, no more, no less. He was consistent and disciplined in sticking with his wise plan.
Amundsen was also obsessive in other helpful, productive, and constructive ways. This was not fussiness about trivial things, but about life and death issues. He went to live with Eskimos to learn how to prepare for severe weather conditions. He marked supply depots in advance. He tripled his estimate of supply needs. No detail was overlooked. He was painstakingly prepared. He believed “good luck” was the result of good planning. Collins comments that Amundsen’s faithful commitment to a “20 miles a day march” is like the tortoise in Aesop’s Fable, “The Tortoise and the Hare,” and led to success.8 Scott’s tendency to rush ahead with 30-40 mile days and then take breaks, was like the reckless rabbit and led to failure.
Self-control and Discipline
With God’s help, Christians need to exercise self-control in an out-of-control world. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives. It’s best to follow Christ daily, with consistence and persistence. If we have stumbled and wandered from God’s path, let’s return to Him ASAP. Otherwise our heart may harden against the Lord and recovery becomes harder. Regular Christian discipline, trusting and obeying God, and repenting and believing on Jesus, is more important than occasional spiritual highs which last a short time until the glow wears off.
Closing Thoughts
Roald Amundsen (1872-1928) emphasized foreseeing difficulties and taking precautions to avoid or survive them. He said that victory awaits those who have things in order. People call it good luck, but defeat is likely for those who neglect to take the necessary precautions. People call it bad luck, but it’s really bad preparation.
Amundsen would agree with American author Jim Rohn (1930-2009) who stated: We must all suffer from one of two pains, the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is that discipline’s pain weighs ounces while regret’s pain weighs tons.
Scripture says that Jesus’ people must plan. That’s our duty. But the results and outcomes remain in God’s hands alone. So remember let’s remember Proverbs 16:9: In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.
To be continued. You can read Planning and Productive Paranoia (Part 2)
Notes (various Bible translations): 1 Prov 21:5. 2 Gen 41:41-56. 3 Heb 11:7-7. 4 Luke 14:28-30. 5 Luke 12:47. 6 Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All, by Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen, p. 91. 7 This important proverb is repeated in Proverbs 22:3. Many translations bring out different angles on God’s teaching. The Lord loves us, so He warns us. 8 Aesop’s Fables is a collection of fables ascribed to Aesop, a slave and storyteller who lived in ancient Greece between 620-564 BC.