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Life is filled with fine lines.

There’s a fine line between concern and worry. There’s can be a fine line between being careful and being fearful. There’s a fine line between spending time focusing on the future to the point that we don’t focus on the present and focusing so much on the present that we are unprepared for what is going to happen in the future.

Ephesians 5:15 Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise— 16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil. 17 So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

As these verses indicate, an important piece to the planning is knowing that what we are planning is God’s will. So, first we need to seek God and His will.

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

When we seek the Lord and His way, He will guide us. This is one of the promises I cling to.

James 4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit,” 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? It is just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”

Still, as Jesus’ brother, James, advises here, as we plan, we still need to keep in mind that we must remain open to God guiding us in a different direction.

Father God, keep me on the path that You have determined and give me Your strength as I prepare to do what I believe you are guiding me to do and which I will do if it proves to be Your will. Lord, I trust that You will equip me with everything I need to accomplish Your will in this endeavor. Keep me focused completely on You as I seek to do Your will in Your way for Your glory. Through Christ, I pray, Amen.

Hebrews 13:20 Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—with the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 equip you with all that is good to do His will, working in us what is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ. Glory belongs to Him forever and ever. Amen.