Resolutions, Goals, and Plans of Mice and Men

How can it be that another calendar year is nearly over? Valentine’s Day was just yesterday, wasn’t it?

 

This image from a Jacquie Lawson 
E-card captures old sentiments.

People exhibit a variety of reactions concerning the end of one year and the start of another. For some, it’s ‘Good riddance!’ The old year can’t end soon enough. For others, it’s a fond farewell, cherishing the achievements and memories created along the way. What the words of the traditional year-ender, “Auld Lang Syne,” mean depends on what kind of year you’ve had: “Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?”

Nevertheless, 2025 will be upon us before we know it. The brilliant shining ball at Times Square will have dropped, and ready or not, we’ll venture in the new year filled with hopes, expectations, and perhaps some uncertainty.

 

One way of trying to limit that uncertainty is to prepare for the coming year. Some of us formulate resolutions, others set specific and measurable goals, while others engage in detailed planning. As I’ve noted in the past, I’m not an advocate of resolutions because they’re so easily broken and then forgotten. 

 

According to some studies, the average lifespan of most resolutions is about two weeks. Quitting smoking, losing weight, limiting screen time, and exercising more all sound like great ideas. Until the time comes for implementing those resolutions. Most of us, once we fail, promptly quit. ‘I knew I couldn’t do it. Why bother?’

 

I prefer setting goals, since they allow for failure along the way. If I resolve to read through the Bible over the course of the year and miss a day or two, I can always catch up later. If I determine to save a certain amount of money each month but unanticipated expenses come up, there’s always next month.

 

The reality of it is, no matter how committed we are to our resolutions and/or goals, there’s always the unexpected. At times, very unexpected. In his classic poem, “To a Mouse,” Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote (in modern English), “The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.” To put it another way, life happens when we’re making other plans.

 

So, what’s the point of goal-setting and planning? Should we just ‘let life happen,’ adopting a fatalistic view of life? I don’t think so. Instead, it’s wise to recognize that while life can and does take surprising twists and turns, we can trust in our God who’s never caught by surprise or unprepared.

 

The Scriptures offer great wisdom about the planning process and the importance of letting the Lord be part of that process. The book of Proverbs alone gives numerous insights. My personal favorite is Proverbs 3:5-6, which I consider my life’s verse: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” I’ve lost count of the times I had my ideas, God had His ideas, and His proved to be much better than mine.

 

Another verse urges us, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed” (Proverbs 16:3). That doesn’t mean God is obligated to bless everything we decide to do. What it does mean is if we determine to make our plans in light of our devotion to the Lord, He will guide us in the planning process.

 

A brief passage from another Old Testament book affirms this. Psalm 37:4-6 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.” When our delight in God and commitment to Him are paramount, He will ensure that our desires align with His own.

 

We could cite many other Bible passages, but three more from Proverbs are particularly helpful for those of us who are planners. Both point to God’s sovereignty – that ultimately He works everything according to His will and purposes.

 

Proverbs 16:9 tells us, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Then we read, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21). And third, “A man’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way?” (Proverbs 20:24).

 

We can regard these assurances from a negative perspective, as if to say, “Who does God think He is to decide what I’m going to do?” However, trusting in God’s omniscience – being all-knowing – can give us much peace and confidence that even if our plans are faulty or misdirected, the Lord is fully able to counter our foolish limitations and redirect our plans in ways we couldn’t have dreamed or expected.

 

As we read in Ephesians 3:20, “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever!”

 

If we can keep these promises in mind as we make our resolutions, set our goals or develop our plans, we’ll find things going much better than we could have hoped. Happy planning – and Happy New Year!

All the Best-Laid Plans and Goals – Tempered by Trust

Happy New Year! So, here we are in unfamiliar, uncharted territory affectionately (at least so far) called 2024. We all know what 2023 gave us, its many ups and downs, twists and turns, joys and frustrations. But what this new year will present, even the sharpest prognosticators can only guess.

 

On a “macro” sense we have little control over decisions made and actions taken globally, nationally, and even at the state and local levels. That, as they say, is “above our pay grade.” However, what we can control is the way we approach the new year, our individual “micro” strategy. 

 

Experience has taught me one of the best ways of doing this is by planning and goal-setting. Just days from now many of our new year’s resolutions will have been broken, but plans we make and goals we establish can still be earnestly pursued.

 

Goals, as I’ve said before, are far superior to resolutions in my opinion. We make resolutions with good intentions, but then we break them and poof! That’s that. Oh well, maybe next year. Goals, on the other hand, are things we can work toward all year long. 

 

Is our goal to lose weight? If we miss an exercise session or eat more than we should, there’s always tomorrow. Want to get out of debt? It can’t be done overnight, but we can whack away at that mountain of “I owe’s” and make steady progress. The important thing to remember about goals is they should be quantifiable, measurable, and attainable. Deciding you want to lose 30 pounds by next week, or get freed up from $30,000 in debt by next month is merely wishful thinking.

 

You might ask yourself questions like: Where am I going (or hoping to go)? How am I going to get there? And how will I know when I’ve arrived?

 

This also applies to the planning process. If we want to change jobs or careers; finally take that long-awaited vacation; or gain more practical understanding of the Bible, it would help to establish a timeline, identify some specific steps to take, and clarify for ourselves what we intend to do. As some old sage once said, “If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.”

 

At the same time, one critical step in goal-setting or planning many of us often overlook is to pray about it in advance. As another wise guy has observed, “Man plans – and God laughs.” Because the Lord’s plans are always better than the ones we can come up with apart from His guidance and direction.

 

In Jeremiah 29:11, He declares, “For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not for harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Through the wonderful hindsight that a lifetime of experience can provide, God typically has never consulted with me about what He intended to do in my life, but again and again I’ve discovered, “Father knows best.”

 

This doesn’t mean those who desire to follow Jesus Christ as called to sit idly on stumps and watch the Lord do all the work. In one of my favorite psalms we find this admonition from King David: “Trust in the Lord and do good… Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him and He will do it. He will bring out your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday” (Psalm 37:3-6).

 

In the very next verse, however, we read words we don’t necessarily want to hear. It says, “Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.” God’s plans are perfect – as is His timing. Even if His timing doesn’t align with the timeframe we desire.

 

The book of Proverbs has much to tell us about planning and goal-setting. For instance, Proverbs 16:3 urges, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” The key is to commit our plans to the Lord – and be willing to accept His course corrections. Because as Proverbs 16:9 notes, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”

 

We could cite many other passages from the Scriptures, but this one offers a good overview: “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21).

 

Starting this new year filled with hope and potential, I wish you happy setting of goals and formulating of plans. Committing them to the Lord and trusting in Him as you do so.