“I don’t care. It’s too late to change. I’ve got the plans made and I’m going through with it.” And sometimes we forge ahead with our inflexible plans that are closed to outside interceptions and influences. We elbow our way through the hurdles and challenges; we ignore the yield signs, the amber signals as well as the stop lights. We forge ahead with our plans.

Fixed purposes but flexible plans? Sometimes it is just the opposite in our lives. We make our big plans and nail them down solidly but if we were questioned about our ‘purpose’ we might find it more difficult to be quite so definite. Often we have definite plans but a poorly defined or less-than-spiritual purpose. Could you clearly spell out your plans for the next six months? Are you open to change them? Or are you charging ahead like a bull that sees red? Or like a robot in motion with broken sensors?

Have you ever noticed the fluid and flexible plans of the Apostle Paul and his brethren in 1 Corinthians 16?

Paul was writing the Corinthian Christians about sending some financial help to the poor believers in Jerusalem. He told the elders to select messengers to hand deliver the gift to Jerusalem. But then he added this interesting note:

Excuse me Paul – aren’t you the busy Apostle with prior commitments and plans? Check your Blackberry again. Would you really be able to go to Jerusalem on short notice if the elders thought it would be a good idea to accompany the others? Are you saying that you have some flexibility in your plans?

“Are you asking me about my plans? Well, I plan to go to Corinth for a visit but only after I visit Macedonia which I am intending to do.”

“Oh, that’s nice. You are planning to come to Corinth to see us. How long can we expect to have you around?”

“So it will be a little while before we will see you? After all you know that you are just a skip, hop and a jump away from us. That may be a bit of an exaggeration but really if you just sailed across the Agean Sea from Ephesus to us in Corinth….the trip wouldn’t be all that long.”

“No, not right now,” Paul says.

“I plan to stay in here in Ephesus until Pentecost, because the Lord is really working here. I am happy to change my plans in order to serve Christ here and now while this door of opportunity is wide open.”

Paul prayerfully made tentative plans for the future but they were always subject to further direction from the Lord. His plans were flexible but his purpose was inflexible. His fixed purpose was to yield and happily submit to the Lord of his life and serve Christ each day however those plans and activities might unfold.

Paul’s purpose in life was clear: “For me to live is Christ.” Philippians 1:21. His overarching life purpose was: all for Christ. Not for his own fame, fun or fortune! His plans were always subject to those factors that maximized his usefulness for the Lord. He planned within those parameters and then he submitted his plans to the Lord who always had the final say.

Are you struggling with planning and knowing the Lord’s will in your life? Try praying for the next 30 days a prayer like this: “Lord, I need direction. Thou art the Lord of my life. I submit all my interests, affections, plans and intentions to Thee. At any cost I want to make choices that maximize my usefulness for Thee. Make known to my treacherous heart any hidden schemes or inner desires that will not be helpful in my usefulness to Thee.”