The Word for Today

by Bob and Debby Gass

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‘We should make plans – counting on God to direct us.’ Proverbs 16:9 TLB


There must be a balance between faith and careful planning. Yet, talk to some professing Christians and you might think otherwise. For example, talk with some who are unemployed and they’ll tell you, ‘I’m just waiting for the Lord to provide a job.’ That’s fine, but have you sharpened your job skills? And where have you placed your résumé? You say, ‘I’m not going that route, I’m just waiting on God.’ Oh, really? Then you won’t mind trimming your budget for a while. The old motto of soldiers during the Revolutionary War applies here: ‘Trust God, but keep your powder dry!’ Place your life in God’s hands, but stay at the ready. You must do all you can to prepare yourself, understanding that the favour you need comes from the Lord. To walk by faith does not mean you stop thinking, planning, taking advice and self-correcting. And it definitely doesn’t imply becoming lazy or apathetic. What a distortion of Biblical faith! Trust God for your finances, but don’t ‘blow your budget’. Trust God for safety in the car, but don’t pass on a blind curve. Trust God for your health, but don’t chain-smoke, stay up half the night and subsist on potato chips and fizzy drink.

Acting foolishly, expecting God to bail you out when things go amiss, isn’t faith, it’s presumption. Wisdom says do all you can, then trust God to do what you cannot do. Faith and careful planning go hand-in-hand. They always have and they always will!

SoulFood: Deut 3-4, Matt 6:1-18, Ps 37:1-7, Prov 11:24-26

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2015

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