HELP FOR THE "IDEA MAN"

“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is 

   the purpose of the Lord that will be established.”

I find this to be the case in my life.  I am constantly coming up with new ideas.  I have planned and designed schools, written K-12 curricula, written business plans, written several books, and much, much more.  It seems every few days I have a new idea.  On paper.

But the frustration of this creativity is that very little of it gets put into actual practice.  Should I be discouraged?  Give up having ideas?  Give up planning?  I don’t think that is the best answer.

I think the answer to this is that God has given me rivers of creativity, but only He can direct the river.  He is the one who has the big picture.  Rivers that overflow their banks and have no limits are just called floods.  They don’t do any good for anyone.

But when God directs ideas, He causes them to be actually put into practice and to last.  That’s the promise that they “will be established.”  And there’s a BIG difference between ideas in your head, or on paper, and those ideas that become houses where people live, businesses where people work, crops that people eat, and so on.

When King David had ambition to build a great temple for God’s glory, God stopped him in his tracks.  He didn’t say to him: “Forget it, David, you’re just full of hot air.  That idea won’t fly.”  Instead he said: “That’s an excellent idea, but you are thinking too small.  You want to put together bricks and mortar – which will only last a few decades.  Instead, I will build you a house, and it will last forever.”

Think of it – a house that will last forever.  That kind of house is not made of humble materials like stone or wood, but of something only God can create – human beings.  And specifically, that One Human Being who was both God and man and whose kingdom will have no end.

Now, THAT’S the big picture.

So, when I tell God,  “Hey, I’ve got this great idea,” He doesn’t laugh at me, although I’m sure He must chuckle to himself sometimes.  But He says, “Daughter, that’s a very good idea, but turn it over to me.  I will take the very best of your ideas, which I have put into your heart, and I will bring others alongside to complete them. And even better, you will not be the one to create your own legacy, but I will create a legacy through you which will last.”

It takes patience and faith to let God create a legacy through you.  I don’t get to see it right now.  I only vaguely have the assurance that there is something out there, something not yet complete, and I will get to see it all someday.

In the meantime … back to the old drawing board … now what was that idea I woke up thinking about…