I leaned back in my chair and looked with great satisfaction upon the single sheet of paper laying on my desk. It was my detailed plan for the year. Every goal was neatly and concisely described and categorized based on my personal, spiritual and work roles. It was all there. The master plan for how my life was going to unfold over the next 365 days. The Type A in me was doing a victory dance and giving myself a High-Five.  Filled with confidence, I felt invincible. All I needed to do now was execute on my plan and life would be great. Right? Wrong.

I had fallen into the same trap that so many others had. I designed my life around what I wanted my master plan to be, leaving God totally out of the picture.  My trying to orchestrate every detail of my life gave God no room to work. While I may execute my plan perfectly, where I end up will be a destination of my own choosing, leaving me to wonder why I am feeling so isolated and unfulfilled. Instead, I need to invite the Holy Spirit into my planning sessions and ask Him to be the architect of my life. The result will be a life’s blueprint sure to create a solid foundation of purpose and fulfillment. 

Many are the plans of the human heart, but it is the decision of the Lord that endures. – Proverbs 19:21

Originally posted 2014-08-05 06:00:18.