Faith has an Action Plan

Many people say that trusting God means leaving everything in God’s hands and waiting for his answer. To coin a phrase, “Let go and let God.” This is not the faith asked for in the Bible. A Bible based faith has human and divine action involved in it. We do not just sit back and wait for God to do something. We get busy and prepare ourselves for what God wants us to do. The Bible states, “Be ready for you know not when the Lord returns,” and readiness involves planning.
King David of ancient Israel wanted to build a temple for God, but God would not let him. God told David he was involved in to many wars to build a house for Him. Instead God told David that his son Solomon would build the temple. Does this mean that David said, “Oh well, it is not my job anymore, so I’ll leave it all up to my son to look after all the details.” No, he did not do this. When he asked his son to build the temple, he had the money put aside, building supplies ready to be used, and skilled craftsmen trained. All he needed to do was put God’s man of choice in charge of the project. David had faith the temple would be built, but he also got everything ready for construction. He had the project already finished in his mind, before the project was even started. He said to his son, “I have provided for that purpose.” David’s vision and faith had substance and commitment to make the project successful. All the praise and honor would go to another, yet he gave it all he had and fully supported his son’s oversight of the project.
David said to Solomon, “Now begin the work, and the Lord be with you” (1 Chronicles 22:16). He had looked after the details, but he charged his son to stay focused on the Lord, and to keep the project God centered. He delegated the job of his heart to another. David said to Solomon, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged” (1 Chronicles 22:13). This was a project of huge proportion, and Solomon no doubt felt overwhelmed. I am also sure that David made sure his son was trained for the task. He left nothing to chance; he backed up his vision with hard work. David knew how to get the job of faith done! His faith had an action plan, and a tenacity to stick with it throughout the years needed for preparation. His faith had a work schedule attached to it. What about your faith? Do you have a plan? Are you preparing yourself to fulfill the promptings of your faith? What spiritual goals and plans are you working on today? Faith without a working plan is not a true faith at all (James 2:14-26). Faith gets the job done!