How “forever” is a long-range plan you can make with confidence
By Dean Collins
Forever is a long time.
When an organization starts a long-range strategic planning process, they’re seldom thinking about forever. I’ve heard of quarterly plans, annual plans, five- and ten-years plans. I even talked to an executive of a multibillion -dollar company that was thinking and planning twenty years out. But I’ve never heard of a consultant or company that is reviewing or creating their “forever plan.” Most likely that is because we all know we can neither see nor predict the future.
All generations
The psalmist, however, declared that God’s counsel stands forever and the plans of his heart last for all generations. The wisdom of God and the love of God are therefore eternal. That sounds like a truly long, long-range plan that connects us to the heart and mind of God. So when we make our plans, whether they are for the next meeting or for the balance of our days, we might want to begin aligning ourselves with eternal wisdom and love.
When we make our plans, we might want to begin aligning ourselves with eternal wisdom and love.
The psalmist tells us that God views us from his place of authority in heaven and evaluates our hearts and our deeds. He also makes note of where we place our hope. When we make plans we make them with some hope of achievement. And here is a point of difference between God and us when planning. We tend not only to think but to behave as if our strength and our strategy will make the plan work. If we bet on the right horse or condition ourselves to be smart or strong enough, surely we will win. But psalms reminds us that to place our hope on ourselves or our plan is false.
There may be temporary hope in who is a President or what the vote count is in the Senate, the House, or even the Supreme Court. But honestly, those plans and strategies are all time bound. And the decisions any of these authorities might make will not last for eternity. Their power does not rise above our eternal God nor last forever.
All people
As Paul begins his epistle to the Romans he describes his mission as being both to the Jewish audience and to the non-Jewish audience. He says he was called to share God’s message of salvation to the wise and to the foolish. We all have our place on that continuum. Paul said he was not ashamed of the gospel because of one thing: It is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes.
The power of God is expressed in the simple yet profound reality that God sent his Son who died on a cross to pay the penalty for anyone and everyone’s sin. This Savior was buried in a tomb and rose victorious over death for all time. What kind of power is that? More power than any can create or be elected to hold. This is life- changing and life-giving and life-sustaining power. And it is offered to us that we might live fully both now and forever.
“The counsel of the Lord stands forever. The plans of God’s heart last for all generations” (Psalm 11:33).
The power of God is expressed in the gospel of Jesus.
A wise person focuses first and always in what is eternal without getting too discouraged or distracted by the temporary setbacks we experience in our lives, our work, our family, or even in our government. Only the things of God will stand the test of time and bring eternal peace and joy.
Your time with God’s Word
Psalm 33:11, 13-22; Romans 1:14-17, ESV
Photo by @felipepelaquim on Unsplash
