I think a lot has been said about a Good Idea vs a God Idea. So often we see someone’s good idea fail and then we argue that the reason it failed, was because the person just started something but never consulted God first so now it failed because it was not a God idea.
Sometimes a person spends a lot of time praying and asking God’s perspective on something before starting. They then put a lot of energy, money and passion into this new venture with the confidence that God is with them because this was really a God idea and in fact, God told them to tackle this project. Why then does it fail?
So, as always, I go to the Bible to find examples and the first one worth mentioning is the fall of man. There is no doubt that making people and putting them on this earth, was God’s plan and yet it failed.
We also see that God appointed King Saul who initially performed so well and in the end, God had to remove him.
Moving to the New Testament, we see that Jesus Himself called His disciples and then Peter denied Him, Thomas doubted Him and Judas betrayed Him.
At this stage, I’m ready to give it up already. I mean, if God’s own plans can fail, why would I even start something new, even when I’m sure it is a God Idea? It is so easy to blame the sinful world we live in or the fact that we have free will and God cannot or will not force us so in the end, we can choose not to follow the initial plan.
I think it is safe to say that in all these cases, the initial plans failed because people started to follow their own ideas and did so often in rebellion against God.
Can we at least learn from the first project God gave man in Gen 2:15? “GOD took the Man and set him down in the Garden of Eden to work the ground and keep it in order.” The Bible does not tell us much about the training God provided to complete this project but we know in hindsight that plants produce seeds and seeds produce plants. We have learnt that soil has to be prepared and nutrients have to be added for plants to grow optimally. We have learnt that plants need water and sunlight and their life cycles differ. We have learnt about seasons and the best time to sow and reap.
What I’m trying to say, is that there will be many things that we’ll have to learn when we start a new project and we will have to spend a lot of time with the One who called us to benefit the most and to produce the intended result.
So, don’t just start with a God Idea and then forget about Him and behave as if it was your idea. A good measure for the success of any project is: “Has God’s Kingdom advanced?” Proverbs 20:18 “Form your purpose by asking for counsel, then carry it out using all the help you can get.”