Leap of Faith: Is it Wrong to Look Before I Leap?

I am a planner. I set goals and I strive for them. I am ambitious and I have hopes and dreams of success. Most people would consider these normal, healthy traits to have, right? But do these traits leave room for faith?

I recently had a conversation with my sister related to this topic. My sister and I are very different people. She's very spontaneous and always has to be doing something. I, on the other hand, am very calculating and require at least a week's notice before even considering attending an event. Keeping all this in mind, let me give you the gist of our conversation as we talked about our plans for the future.

ME:
"I want to start my career in January, have a decent home within the next year, start having kids within the next two years, finish having kids by the time I'm 32, get my Master's Degree by 35, perhaps become a school principal or get into politics after that, oh and retire before 60 and have an amazing retirement. "

SISTER:
"I'm open to wherever God leads me."

Now my visceral reaction to this comment was to get offended and feel judged. My lovely sister hadn't directly condemned my plans in any way, however she inadvertently made me feel like a bad Christian for making plans and not mentioning God at all in those plans.

So who's right? Who's wrong? I wrestled with this idea and my guilt for a few days and discussed it with a few people close to me. My guilty conscience led me to believe I wasn't completely right, however my reflections on the conversation have led me to the conclusion that I'm not wrong for making plans either.

Where did I go wrong? --I haven't been including God in my plans at all.

"5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take."
(Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT)

D'Oh! How could I miss that one? This verse was one of my absolute favourite verses growing up. I had it underlined, highlighted, transcribed, and memorized. Or how about this key verse:

"3 Commit your actions to the Lord,
and your plans will succeed."
(Proverbs 16:3 NLT)

These verses have a few things in common. First of all, they both reveal an expectation that I should, indeed, be consulting God in my plans. A-ha! But the key words there are "my plans". God does not want to be in the driver's seat in my life. I know the driver/passenger, pilot/co-pilot metaphor has been overused; however, I believe it does offer important insight into how faith and goal-setting can work together in harmony.

The first verse says God will let me know what path to take, it does not say he will lead me by the nose down that path. He does not forge the path ahead. We forge our own paths and he points to the best one (or, in some cases, points to where we should forge said path). The second verse says I should commit my actions to the Lord, and MY plans will succeed. I'm in the driver's seat in my life. Ultimately, I choose where this clunker is going! God is my passenger, and we all know what the passenger's job is---navigator!

I can plan the route for this journey, but I risk taking dangerous turns or driving around in circles if I don't consult the Almighty Navigator. God wants me have a fulfilling and successful journey. He's there to help. However, he's not about to jump into the role of backseat driver. He won't give me advice unless I ask for it. I am free to tell him to sit quiet and let me do the driving... but I then risk looking like a complete idiot as I get more and more lost in my refusal to ask for directions.

The bottom line is, God knows the destination he desires for us. He knows how to best get us to that ideal destination. We are free to make our own route planning, but if we refuse to ask the Guy holding the Map how to best get to that destination, we are probably in for a very rough ride and may not even end up in the right destination at all if we choose to kick God to the curb completely. God has the map. He sees the big picture. We can only see the road up to the horizon. We'd be stupid not to ask what's up ahead and which turns to take.

I see it this way, as long as I consult God through prayer, Bible, and seeking advice from Godly people, I can make sure my plans are in line with God's plan. Unless I'm completely out to lunch, God usually doesn't want to take over. Instead, he'd prefer to "tweak" my plans to ensure my journey continues to head in the right direction.

The other thing I need to be careful of is where I'm focusing. In my last postI talked about the "shiny things" in the ditch. I need to make sure I stay on the road for this journey.

"24 Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! 25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize." (1 Corinthians 9:24-25 NLT)

Nice houses, prestigious titles, fun toys, and fashionable clothes are all "shiny things" in the ditch... prizes that will "fade away". While there is nothing wrong with making a couple quick pit stops to explore a few "shiny objects", there is something very wrong with driving off the road and into the ditch and spending the whole trip dumpster-diving.

My main focus should keep me on the road. These goals include cultivating loving relationships, sharing the Truth with others, and striving to shape my life to reflect that of Jesus' example.

God,
I'm sorry for ignoring you for so long. I now realize you hold the map and you know what is coming up far beyond the horizon I can see. I'd like it if you could take a look over my road plan and help me make adjustments where necessary. Please don't let me get to the point where my pride gets in the way of asking for directions. I look so stupid and get so lost when I do that.
Thanks,
Me

Drive safe, my fellow Stumblers. Be sure to ask for directions. ;)