Plan Wisely . . . Now!

God is teaching me many things about wise planning. One verse in particular shifted my thinking.

TRUTH TALK Insight: Proverbs 6:6-8

What Will Tomorrow Bring?

Solomon said,

You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two. Nobody has to tell it what to do. All summer it stores up food; at harvest, it stockpiles provisions (Prov. 6:6-8 MSG).

As I read that Scripture, I thought, “No one likes to be called a lazy fool.” But Solomon didn’t stop there. He taught a lesson from creation. Who would have thought? Ants can show us how to be wise regarding the future.

We don’t know what the future holds except for what we read in Scripture. James said, “You do not know what tomorrow will bring” (James 4:14 ESV). True enough. But how do we deal with that uncertainty?

A tagline in a Pacific Life advertisement puts it this way: “Life isn’t about what tomorrow brings. It’s about what you do with it.” We can best “do” when we wisely plan.

The Wrong Time to Plan

Tim Challies wrote about the wisdom of building now for the future because it’s “not the time” later.

• • “Ideally,” Challies said, “trials are not the time to construct a relationship, but the time to lean upon an existing one.

• • “Ideally, trauma is not the time to begin trying to understand how God is present in our pain, but the time to lean into what we already know to be true.

• • “Ideally, darkness is not the time to begin groping around for a light, but the time to depend upon the light you have been carrying with you all along.”

What was Challies saying? We need to plan now for the worst. We need to plan when things are going well for possible future trials, trauma, and darkness.

Challies said, “God wants us to prepare our lives, families, and homes as part of our Christian stewardship.” Part of that stewardship is using financial wisdom and making practical emergency plans. 

Part of it is preparing our hearts. When I wrote Truth Talk for Hurting Hearts, I wrote that I was glad I had memorized certain Scriptures that God could use in my heart after my diagnosis with multiple myeloma. 

An Example of Good Planning

Joseph in the Old Testament is an excellent example of this. The Pharaoh in Egypt dreamed two stark dreams, and God showed Joseph the meaning of the dreams.

Called before the Pharaoh, Joseph suggested a strategy to avert the devastation of a coming famine (Genesis 41:1-32). He advised Pharaoh to collect and store a fifth of Egypt’s harvest during the coming seven years of plenty (41:33-36). The strategy would sustain the people of Egypt and Canaan during the approaching seven-year famine.

The plan “seemed good” to the Pharaoh. Recognizing Joseph’s wisdom, he appointed Joseph second-in-command and empowered him to implement the plan (41:37-40). Joseph stored grain in giant city storehouses. When the famine came, he opened the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians and others, including his own family (41:56-57 and 42:1-2).

It might be argued that God gave Joseph insight into what was immediately ahead, and we don’t get that direct insight. But God always expects His children to practice wise stewardship. We can read the signs of the times and know that it would take only a very short time for our lives to be turned upside down.

Remember how quickly COVID-19 changed our lives?

Prepare for Possible Hard Times

What does this mean for Christians today? We must be diligent, not lazy, and adequately prepare for possible hard times.

Ask God to show you as an individual and family how to manage (steward) what He’s given to you, and to help you wisely prepare for hard days. Here are simple suggestions, but God may give you additional instructions:

• • Stock foods and crucial supplies for emergencies. (You don’t have to be a full-on “prepper”—but you should have simple provisions that you rotate before they expire.)

• • If possible, set aside funds for emergencies. Some might be in the bank; some might be in a safe place in your home.

• • Gather information and contacts you might need in emergencies (phone numbers, emergency shelters, etc.)

• • Prepare your heart with Scriptures about God’s loving care and faithfulness. Commit them to memory!

• • Care for others. This isn’t about hoarding; it’s about being prepared so—as God leads—you might help others. Consider who you might help in an emergency, and how.

Have you made preparations for possible hard times ahead? If not, what is one simple thing you can begin to do this week to wisely prepare?

Dawn Wilson, founder and director of Heart Choices Today, is the creator of Truth Talk with Dawn. She is a regular columnist at Crosswalk and Arise Daily. Dawn’s co-authored book is Truth Talk for Hurting Hearts: Discover Peace and Comfort Through God’s Perspective. She and her husband live in sunny Southern California. They have two grown, married sons and three granddaughters, whom she affectionately calls her “kiddles.”

Graphic from Eugene Kucheruk at Unsplash.