00:05

It’s that time again, all. I AM your host, Wanda Thibodeaux, and you’re listening to Faithful on the Clock, the podcast all about getting your faith and work aligned. In this episode, I’m discussing something you’ve probably done TONS of--planning. How can too much of this common strategy backfire, and what can you do to get back on track? Let’s get to it.

00:36

So we all know that old saying failing to plan is planning to fail, right? And to a degree, I think that’s true. Whenever you work, you have to know where you’re going, and coming up with a path or strategy is really important when it comes to limiting the risk of loss you have for your company.

The second side of this is, work can be so, so stressful. We accept that somewhat, but it’s not really what we want, it’s not the ideal. And I’ll link to resources in the show notes, but there’s research that shows that having a sense of control can reduce the amount of stress we have. And it’s important to point out that it’s just the perception here that matters--the reality might be that you aren’t in control at all, but just thinking or feeling like you are is really effective for curbing anxiety or worry. And what’s even more interesting is that you don’t even have to necessarily follow through with the plan you make--just creating it and knowing there are steps you can go through does the same thing.

So if you look at psychology right now, there’s this huge push to get people to look for even little things they can control to help them feel better.

01:46

Now, as somebody who is admittedly just a little type A, I’m not going to tell you to throw planning out the window. It absolutely has merit. But the problem I think many of us have now because of this whole idea that controlling more helps us feel good is that it’s so easy for you to end up trusting nobody but yourself. You can end up thinking that you can create your own peace, rather than just accepting that peace and joy for what it is--a gift from God. Probably the most well-referenced scripture for that is John 14:27, which says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I GIVE you. I do not give you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

02:34

And the thing is, there’s always something else to tackle. There’s always something else we can feel like we need to prepare for, and the reality is, nobody can prepare for everything. There’s no way you can foresee everything or have a contingency for everything. And if you aren’t careful, you can fall into this trap where the “what if” line of thinking just never stops, you know? It just sort of goes on for infinity, and worry about one thing can turn into worry about everything.

So at some point, you have to let it go. You have to say, I’m going to drive this far and no further, because otherwise you can start seeing potential disasters everywhere.

03:20

Now, the glorious fact of it is, you don’t HAVE to plan everything. Why? Because God is already in the driver’s seat. He always has been. Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” And in John 16:13, He tells you “But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what He hears, and HE WILL TELL YOU WHAT IS YET TO COME.” Psalm 48:14 says “For this God is our God forever and ever; HE WILL BE OUR GUIDE even to the end.” And finally, Isaiah 58:11 tells you, “The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”

So even though God wants us to act wisely and will give us wisdom to make good choices if we ask, it’s not your job to worry about everything. It’s not your job to try to look into the future and protect EVERYTHING. Your job is just to trust God enough to show you where to go, and to listen to whatever He tells you.

04:52

I like to illustrate this with the story of Peter and Andrew, two of Jesus’ disciples--you’ll find that in Matthew 4:18-20. Their plan was just to go out on the sea every day and pull in what fish they could. That was how they made their living. But then along comes Jesus, and he essentially says, “Guys, just forget it. Just come follow me, because I’ve got an even more important job for you to do.” And guess what! Peter and Andrew didn’t just say, “Hey, Jesus, thanks, but no thanks. We’ve got these boats, and you know, they’re pretty great, and we’ve got the whole agenda set for the day, sooooo…” No, no, no. They actually listened. They put everything they’d planned aside and let GOd totally upend them.

And that’s what you need to do to. Be responsible and plan where it makes sense, but don’t try to carry it all, because you weren’t designed to. Just be ready to follow whatever God tells you His plan is, rather than always trying to rely on your own. Maybe that means you have to have the courage to tell others on your team, you know, we’re not going to research that anymore, or we’re only going to put resources into developing just these contingencies. You’ll probably need to draw some really clear boundaries. You might meet a lot of resistance from people who are still used to doing it all on their own and who think that’s the only way to do things. But, if you remember those studies I mentioned, when you PERCEIVE that God is at the helm, you’ll get the peace you’re chasing. Your decisions can be solid because you’re not operating based on fear or worry. That’s what your business needs if it’s going to thrive.

06:32

So let me wrap up with a prayer.

God, the world screams at us every day that there’s no safety net, and that if we don’t constantly work to protect ourselves, everything can be lost in an instant. But your word promises that you already have good plans for us. Show us where the line is, where we don’t need another contingency or one more detailed strategy. Let us see where your strategies already are, so we can have the confidence to lead others with the joy they need to see from us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

07:18

That’s all the time I have for this episode. Next time, my topic is ‘fake it ‘til you make it’. I’ll explain why this popular work attitude is too outdated to be effective, and why you need to operate with full honesty as one of God’s followers. Until you hit that play button again, be blessed.