Listen…Plan
By Lexi Ellis
“Good friend, take to heart what I’m
telling you; collect my counsels and guard them with your life. Tune your ears
to the world of Wisdom; set your heart on a life of Understanding.”
Last
year, I passed it every day on my way to work: suited women sitting in fancy
chairs. And on this billboard, in large letters it reads, “Before we plan, we
listen.” The billboard is for an investment company. From a marketing
standpoint, it employs the powerful tactic of appealing to the innate desire to
be listened to. Stephen Covey, in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,
addresses this art of truly listening rather than just hearing. (1)
Despite
the humanistic and marketing draw, I realized this phrase is one applicable to
my relationship with God. How often have I planned and forgotten that
imperative first step of listening to God? How often I stress and schedule and
skip being still, or asking the Holy Spirit for guidance, or reading His Word
to allow Him to speak to me.
This is
hard for me. I am a planner. I loved the planning part of my wedding; I jump on
a chance to plan our vacations; I think and prepare for my students’ learning
each day. I thrive on the planning. And I do work on truly listening to others.
Yet, it’s so hard to listen first to God, then submit to His plan.
There
are countless biblical examples of the essential “listen…then plan.” Scripture
is filled with men and women who chose to stop, take time to pray, and listen
to God’s direction before planning. And Scripture is equally filled with those
who chose to go with their own self-sufficient planning, and we’re able to
learn from the havoc and consequences that resulted.
The
prophet Isaiah wrote, “The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are
taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by
morning He awakens; He awakens my ear to hear…The Lord God has opened my
ear.” (2)
God has
an amazing plan when we choose to listen to His way before making our own
plans. God has incredible things when He has our ear to hear. God does
remarkable work in our lives and advances His Kingdom when we don’t jump
straight to planning without first listening.
“Before we plan, we listen.” May that be true
of us today and every day.
GOING DEEPER:
GOING DEEPER:
1. What
parts of your life do you need to surrender, lay in front of the Lord, and
listen to Him before you continue planning?
FURTHER
READING:
(1) Stephen
Covey’s chapter “Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, then be Understood”
in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. ©1989 Running Press.
(2) Isaiah
50:4-5 (ESV)
