The Word: Habakkuk 2: 1 (KJV)
1. I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
Dig Deeper:
2 And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
Think about it
INGREDIENTS OF EFFECTIVE PLANNING
A little recap on our Vision series so far this month
– It’s our year of Next level. This represent a positive movement upward, a change of status quo, a change of gear in the right direction, a step towards fulfilling destiny.
– We said 4 main things are on the mind of God: Newness (causing new things), Restructuring (a re-organisation in our lives), taking a step back in other to leap and God will be taking away all reproach
4 questions that an effective plan ought to answer:
– The what question (what is the goal)
– The why question (why am I chasing this goal)
– The how question (what do I need to do for this to happen)
– The when question (what is the time duration or season of expectation)
Every plan that will be effective needs to answer those 4 questions. So as we make plans for 2018. We need to address those 4 questions. From our text this morning we can see 7 ingredients Habakkuk engaged in effective planning:
7 Ingredients of Effective / Strategic Planning
1. Prayer: I will stand on my watch. Habakkuk was a prayerful person. Planning without prayers will end up as mere logistic analysis. Prayer is the power vehicle that crushes every opposition to our Divine inspired goals.
2. Hearing God: I will hear what he will say to me. Habakkuk listened. Hearing God saves us unnecessary labour. Hearing God brings speed. Hearing God makes things easy.
3. Documentation: Write the vision. Habakkuk wrote down the plans. Things that are not documented are easily forgotten. A project cannot be planned or managed without documentation
4. Details: Make it plain: Habakkuk was a man of little details. Thinking thru allows us to go into the little details. Without the details a plan is only a dream. The little details is God’s mechanism of making clearer his plans. It is how God fine tunes the vision he has birth in our hearts. Going into the details allow us to see what is likely to work or not
5. Action: That he may run that readeth it: Action is the trigger that sets plans into motion. Plans remain wishful thinking until an action is taken. God wants us to first of all understand is Divine Agenda for us this year and after that he wants us to run with it
6. Understanding seasons: For the vision is for an appointed time: God may give you certain visions or revelations right now, but you need to know the time to move. Timing can determine the success or failure of a plan. When you move at the right time you enjoy God’s backing, when operate outside of God’s timing you experience frustration
7. Tenacity: Though it tarry, wait for it: That it was inspired by God does not necessarily mean all be smooth sailing. There could be delay, distractions, obstacles, oppositions. But we need to develop the patience, persistence, resolution, fighting spirit to hang in there until there is an accomplishment.
God is set to take us to our next level during the course of this year. But we must learn lessons from Habakkuk to make our year effective.
Nuggets:
A plan is only as effective as the level of ingredients it contains
Our memory verse for January 2018
Habakkuk 2: 2
2 And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
Let’s take a few moment to learn our memory verse for this month by heart. It can be memorised in 2 lines:
Line 1: And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision,
Line 2: and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
Once you say it a few times it will stick.
Prayer focus: Our prayers for the next level project:
Thank you Lord Jesus for 2018
On Grace:
Masterlife Workbook: The Church is embarking on weeks of discipleship workbook study: Masterlife now on the 2nd workbook: The Disciple’s personality
