"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." Proverbs 16: 3 

It is really humbling to know that God is about to use us in a significant way, or, that God is about to bless our idea. Trouble is, most of the time we fail to have this absolute assurance. Not because God does not want us to know, but because we just can't be sure from our perspective. We get an idea, we hope it is from God, and we cannot wait to jump in with both feet. We get so excited, not so much about the idea, but in the end results we see from the idea. "It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way." Proverbs 19:2. What we need is a plan, a good plan.

Joshua was a man whom God used to implement a God plan. Joshua became Israel's leader at one of the most difficult times in history. Within days of his appointment, he had the responsibility to carry out the daunting task of conquering the lands set aside by God for Israel. Joshua had been one of twelve spies Moses sent out to spy out the land some forty years earlier. Only he and Caleb returned with a decision to move forward on God's plan. Because the other spies convinced the Israelites against the plan of God, God had His people wonder in the wilderness until their generation had ceased. What a tragedy to waste a part of our life by missing out on a plan sent from God. But Moses used this period of time to mentor Joshua and teach him how to be Godly leader. 

In the first few verses of Joshua, God "said" to him, "get ready." God was about to use Joshua as the leader to give Israel the promised land across the Jordan. Not only was God about to give him the plan in which to accomplish this, but the Lord also told Joshua", no one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life--- I will never leave you nor forsake you." Oh, what an enviable situation to actually hear the voice of God on a plan, to know He is with us, and it will not fail. In those days the Holy Spirit had not come, thus, God had to speak to His people through avenues of His voice. But God is just as real today through His word and through the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Most of us, however, live in a world where our idea or vision simply comes from our belief that this is something God wants us to do. We create a plan of action using our past experience, visions of how it should work, and a hope and prayer. We throw all that together and ask God to be with us and to bless our plan.   

I love to hunt quail. I remember the first time I went quail hunting with a friend. I immediately fell in love with the idea. Walking in the woods or along a hedge row with a good friend, a good dog, and soaking in the outdoors, was my thing. It wasn't long before we saw "ole" Sam(that's the dog) crouched down with his head reaching out like he could taste those birds in his mouth. Being a pointer, his tail stood straight and rigid except for the very tip end which vibrated with the excitement of pouncing on those birds. That in itself is worth the hunt, just to see the dog get a sniff of the birds and stay solid in the point position until you are ready for him to flush up the birds. 

Being my first attempt at this, I had no idea of what we should do next. My friend came along side of me, and after positioning himself for his attack and without notice, he hollowed -"FLUSH". With that permission, Sam jumped into the middle of the covey and birds went every where in all directions. I heard gun fire as I stood in absolute panic. Birds were going over my head, to my left, to my right, and straight ahead. When things had settled, my friend ask me why I didn't shoot? I replied," I didn't know what was going on, birds were every where and I didn't know which ones to shoot at." After a good laugh, Sam retrieved my friend's birds and I received a lesson on how to handle a flushed covey of quail. I realized the birds had a plan of their own. They would all rise up in flight at the same time and scatter in every direction. That way, our attention could only be in one direction and the majority of the birds would escape. I proved their plan worthy. But on the next point, I had my plan and I got my first bird.

When we have the idea in place, our first reaction can be - let's get it done. We scatter out in every direction like that covey of quail. We never get a shot because we don't have a good plan, or, we shoot before we have a plan in place. Other times, we plan but never implement the plan. But most often, we plan and then ask God to bless it rather than seeking God by praying first, then planning. Before God gave Joshua the plan on how to conquer the promised land, He first sat him down and let him know what was going to be needed of him before he undertook the task. Joshua had his conversation with God. Out of that conversation, came the courage and the mental and spiritual strength to undertake the plan God had for all Israel. Joshua was now ready for battle. That should be our approach before devising a plan and in particular, implementing a plan. We need to be mentally and spiritually prepared, for the course before us may require all we have.