Planning and Decision-Making: A Biblical Perspective

By Os Hillman

Any enterprise is built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts.
(Proverbs 24:3,4 LB)

Owning and operating an advertising agency meant I was required to develop strategic plans for companies. This meant developing plans several years ahead.

I have always believed in planning ahead. I have written many strategic plans for companies over the years.

However, there was a time when I experienced a constant state of uncertainty in my business and personal life, and I realized I could only plan so much. Things changed from day to day.

This inability to plan more than a week, or in some cases a day in advance, caused me to rethink the whole idea of planning as it relates to life and work. God was doing something in my life that could not be planned. So, if I sought to develop specific plans around what I thought God was doing, Iran adrift. It was only when I knew what God was leading that I could plan effectively.

It's a problem of using a human, logical approach versus a Spirit-led approach.

I have discovered in working with so many Christian organizations over the years, and even in my life, that human planning without the Spirit of God leading in that planning leads to presumption, failure and disappointment.

The people of Israel often fell into the habit of their own reasoning apart from the spirit of God. This frustrated God because He actually desired to accomplish things in a shorter timetable, but was unable to due to Israel's disobedience.

I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.

If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes! (Psalm 81:10-14)

God can accomplish more in six months through a people yielded to Him than we could accomplish in 70 years without Him. God wanted to accomplish His plan for the people of Israel a lot faster, but their disobedience prevented them from allowing Him to move on their behalf.

I must confess that it is a whole lot easier to develop a written plan for my life and execute that plan than to depend on God each day. Total dependence is a humbling condition. Unfortunately, that is exactly how God wants us to walk with Him -- in total dependence on Him day-by-day.

God is tearing apart the plans of many men and women in the workplace today because He wants to rebuild them in the way they operate in life and work. He wants total dependence upon Him, not just an occasional prayer of guidance.

George Mueller
George Mueller was a pastor in England during the nineteenth century. He was concerned that God's people had become very discouraged. They no longer looked for God to do anything unusual. They no longer trusted God to answer prayers. They had lost their faith.

Mueller began to pray as God led Him. His prayers were for God to lead him to a work that could only be explained by the people as an act of God. George wanted the people to learn that their God was a faithful, prayer-answering God.

He came upon the verse in Psalm 81:10 -- "Open wide your mouth and I will fill it." God began to lead him in a walk of faith that became an outstanding testimony to all who hear of his story.

When he felt led of God to do some work, he prayed for the resources needed and told no one of the need. He wanted all to know that God had provided for the need only in answer to prayer and faith. During his ministry in Bristol, Mueller started Scriptural Knowledge Institute for distribution of Scripture and for religious education. He also began an orphanage.

By the time of his death, George Mueller had been used by God to build four orphan houses that cared for 2,000 children at a time. Over 10,000 children had been provided for through the orphanages. He distributed over eight million dollars that had been given to him in answer to prayer. When he died at 93, his worldly possessions were valued at $800.

Oswald Chambers made an observation about planning. "Much of modern Christian enterprise is 'Ishmael.' Born not of God, but of an inordinate desire to do God’s will in our own way – the one thing our Lord never did.

"The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. (Psalm 33:10-11)

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. (Isaiah 55:8)

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose thatprevails. (Proverbs 19:21)

Our biggest problem with planning is that we plan and carry out things in our own wisdom that only God has a right to determine. We cannot know the when, or where, or how of God's will until He tells us. God's whole method of directing us is designed for us to experience Him in the process of walking with Him. It is process-based versus outcome-based.

The methods that God used to accomplish His purposes were creative and often illogical to the human mind. Consider God requiring Joshua to walk around the city of Jericho seven times, or standing at the waters edge of the Jordan before God parted the waters for the people to pass on dry ground. Consider the blind man being told to wash his eyes with mud in order to receive sight. Consider Gideon being charged to fight with only 300 against many thousands.

The stories are numerous. They all demonstrate one undeniable fact about how God operates and plans. He does not want us depending on our own resources in any area of our lives. He wants us to depend on Him for every area. He wants us to live in the supernatural as compared to the natural.

Confirming Decisions
Now that we have established some guidelines for planning, we need to discuss ways to confirm our plans. There are times when we must make quick decisions during the course of a day and we need to have the freedom to use our God-given wisdom to make those decisions.

God speaks throughmany different ways and as we become one with Him, we become more integrated in our ability to move and be led by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:14). The scriptures do not indicate that God was constantly communicating moment by moment with His people. However, God does encourage us to seek Him moment by moment in our lives.

Not every decision we must make can afford, nor is it necessary, to be confirmed. Jesus encourages us to abide in the vine, which means we should be walking in close fellowship with Him and know that He is guiding us throughout our day.

However, the scriptures also convey a principle of confirmation that can greatly reduce the frequency of making poor decisions and allow us to make good plans. I would highly recommend that any major decision be confirmed through a few different sources.

F. B. Meyer’s Formula
One night as the famous Bible teacher F.B. Meyer stood on the deck of a ship approaching land, he wondered how the crew knew when and how to safely steer to the dock. It was a stormy night, and visibility was low.

Meyer, standing on the bridge and peering through the window, asked “Captain, how do you know when to turn this ship into that narrow harbor?”

“That’s an art,” replied the captain. “Do you see those three red lights on the shore? When they’re all in a straight line I go right in!”

Later Meyer said: “When we want to know God’s will, there are three things which always occur: the inward impulse, the Word of God, and the trend of circumstances…Never act until these three things agree.”

The Role of Spouses in Making Decisions
When John Benson decided to make some financial investments in a new business venture, he was very excited about the possibilities for a handsome financial return. His business and financial background had served him well.

John felt strongly that his wife Jenny would not understand the complexity of his investment, so he casually mentioned it to her. When she asked a few simple questions, John became defensive and justified his investing in the venture.

Jenny felt uneasy about the investment, but since he had been so successful in the past, she laid aside her reservations and left the responsibility up to John.

A year later, after investing a large sum of money, John received a phone call from the investment company. It seems that the principals of the company had fled the country and were not to be found. All the investors who had put money in the company were going to lose their investment with no ability to recoup it. Many astute investors had been taken in on the scam.

This story could be retold repeatedly across the world. God’s principles for making decisions require input from both spouses, regardless of their level of expertise.

I learned this lesson the hard way after making many independent decisions outside the counsel of my wife. Today, whenever I am faced with a major decision, I first consult the Lord, and then I consult with my wife. She may disagree totally with something that seems very straightforward to me, but I have learned not to not move forward if she is not in agreement. She does not need to know all the details, nor does she have to have expertise. God has placed in her a “chip” called“intuition”. That intuition cannot explain why she feels the way she does, she just knows when something is not right.

Conversely, husbands bring a totally different perspective that may give an alternative side to asituation that the wife has never considered. God has called married couples to be one. If we seek to make decisions independently, then we are benefiting from only 50% of the intended resource God has placed within our grasp.

In marriage, this stewardship of decisions requires two people. God blesses this union by honoring the decisions made with the motive of glorifying God and relying on His Spirit to lead in our decision-making process.

Confirmation Through Others
The scriptures encourage us to seek advice and counsel from others. This counsel needs to be from other Godly people who share the same values and goals that we have.

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. (Proverbs 15:22)

The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.(Proverbs 12:15)

Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. (Proverbs 13:10)

Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will bewise. (Proverbs 19:20)

Make plans by seeking advice; if you wage war, obtain guidance.(Proverbs 20:18)

Keeping A Balance With Counsel from Others
We should strive to maintain balance when seeking input from others and making decisions as we feel God is leading. This process is designed to confirm direction for which we are seeking confirmation.

Paul was sensitive to getting too heavy-handed in the confirmation process. He offered advice but was not the enforcer of someone’s decision.

And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter. (2 Corinthians 8:10)

There is a principle of agreement among two or three individuals throughout the scriptures to confirm a decision, but even this does not negate a person’s right to make independent decisions. The requirement for efficient administration frequently requires single points of decision-making. Where there is willingness and trust to receive input, there is probably also humility, faith, and grace for God to work His pleasure in His servant. Where there is unwillingness, the opposite is true.

There have been times in my life where I have felt strongly about a certain issue only to receive feedback from those close to me which revealed that I was not accurate in my assessment of the situation. I have learned to yield in such situations, trusting that God is working through those in whom I am accountable.

Peace of Mind
Peace of mind is another important confirmation for decisions. If you do not have peace about a decision, you should wait until God gives you peace. This does not mean your decision may not have some tension due to the faith aspect of it, but deep down you should have a peace that it is the right decision.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:6-7)

I hope these thoughts will help you as you seek to plan and make decisions through the power of the Holy Spirit.