Art Lessons 2

Today's Art Lesson is entitled "The Art of Planning." When you get a great idea, the first thing that you should do is pray about it earnestly and be sure that it is God's idea and not some cockamamie idea that sounds good and maybe even is a very good idea, but not for you and not for now.

Think about it, pray about it, get others praying with you about it and make certain that God is in it. When you are certain that God is in it, get a piece of paper and start writing things down. The Bible calls this "counting the cost." This is not just money. This is time, resources, health issues, etc. How much will it cost in money? How and where will you get this money? How much time will it take to implement this plan? How many people will need to be involved with you in this plan? Are these folks willing to be involved in your plan? How much physical strength will be needed to execute this plan.

There are many things to consider here. If the people helping you with this plan are older, they are probably smarter. If they are younger, they are probably physically stronger. Which do you need? These are things to consider. Do you need brains or brawn? Very few people can pull off a great plan all by themselves. We need each other. A prayer network is vitally important. If you are working with a team, it is important to begin each day with group prayer. It doesn't have to be long, last for hours, or take up half of your day, but it needs to happen before the work day begins.

Planning is a skill that every servant of God needs to acquire. There are those who are great planners, but who unfortunately never move beyond the planning stage of any great idea. Unless you are getting paid just to think things up for others to do, then the next thing you need to do is find out how to "execute your plan." And I don't mean kill it. You will need the help of God to do this also. Pray, pray, pray. The God who planned and built the universe and keeps it all going will be able to help you.