“Man proposes but God disposes.”
~Thomas a Kempis.
I once heard of a man who proudly proclaimed, “I am a self-made man,” to which he heard a resounding retort from a nearby listener, “That must be terribly disappointing.”
Many of today’s leaders are Type A and very aggressive. When they see something they want, they go for it with all the gusto they can muster. They make their own opportunities and are not used to waiting for anything or anyone to give them permission to proceed. All of that is understandable for a person who has no knowledge of God, but it is totally unacceptable for a spiritual man. A man who understands God’s ways knows that he can never be responsible for his own destiny or success. I am ashamed to admit that I have been guilty of being too sure of myself and going through closed doors from time to time. Have you?
Self-confidence has led to some of my biggest failures. I was working on a very large event a few years ago. It had a massive budget but we were gathering momentum and sure of our success. I remember telling our staff one day that we did not have time for a prayer meeting because we were too busy and needed to get right into the work for the day. But now in looking back I see something I did not see then. It was not my hard work, know-how or even our gathering traction that could make us successful; only God can give us the victory we need. I was old enough and spiritually seasoned enough to know better but my carnal nature got the better of me and I failed as a result.
Confidence is good but be sure to place your confidence in the right thing; not yourself and not even your gifts. Place your confidence in God. Only He can make something out of nothing. He can make your bad plan into a good plan and He can take your experience and throw it into the trash can. My greatest successes have been totally unexplainable and certainly not attributable to my own intelligence or hard work. Only a fool thinks he can create a lasting legacy apart from God.
So here is a summary of what I have learned: 1.) Work as hard and smart and you possibly can. 2.) Prayerfully observe as God opens and closes doors – be flexible to attend to the movement of His Spirit. 3.) Do not go through closed doors but wait on God. 4.) Give Him the credit for your success. If you follow these guideposts you can never fail. If you don’t you will never succeed.
“A man's mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.” Proverbs 16:9
