Today’s reading: Joshua 4, Proverbs 4
Today as I was preparing for my first staff meeting of the year, I pulled out our 2018 Annual Operating Plan to review. This plan sets out the goals and objectives my department intends to achieve over the next twelve months. While important, and intended to guide our actions in the near-term, this plan doesn’t tell the whole story. In fact, without a view to our organization’s vision, mission and strategic plan, it could seem fairly trivial. When looked at as part of the bigger picture, however, my department’s Annual Operating Plan with its specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and time-bound objectives helps keep us on the right path. While we can’t achieve our aspirational state in just twelve months, we can certainly derail it if we don’t make progress on our Operating Plan this year.
As I opened Proverbs 4 to prepare for today’s post, Solomon’s words took me back to strategic planning. In 1 Kings, Solomon articulated his aspirational state when he asked God for wisdom. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people (1 Kings 3:9).
Do you have a strategic plan? Not one for your team at work, but one for you personally? Have you articulated your aspirational state? If not, what guides your daily choices? May I challenge you to consider following Christ as the vision and mission of your life? The words of Proverbs 4:18-19 describe an aspirational state I believe is worth pursuing.
The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble (Proverbs 4:18-19).
Likewise, the words of Proverbs 4:25-27 describe tactics to guide your daily choices.
Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil (Proverbs 4:25-27).