On the way to work this morning, a truck in front of me had a bumper sticker that read, People make plans… God laughs. Pulling up to a stop light, I could see tiny trumpet-blowing angels on the sticker, and a final line: Just wing it.

Cute. And Biblical, right? Doesn’t the Bible say our plans make God laugh?

Not exactly.

The only plans at which God laughs are those of the wicked (Psalm 37:13). And in the context, those ​“plans” are really plotting or scheming.

But what does God think about other kinds of plans? 

Scripture and history record countless plans that try to secure peace and prosperity apart from God. Or a church creates a strategy and it becomes a stand-in for the Holy Spirit. 

God knows this kind of planning is a dead end.

But a plan for growing in grace, a plan for becoming more dependent upon Jesus, a plan for training in godliness — now there’s a plan that won’t make God laugh; it’ll make God smile.

While some Christians can be too plan-dependent when it comes to organizational growth, others are plan-averse when it comes to spiritual growth. When it comes to the spiritual life, there’s a ​“just wing it” mentality.

Christians have no problem with making a training plan for becoming a better athlete, musician, tradesperson. Anyone who thinks they can progress in these areas without training is thought to be out of touch with reality. And they are.

But in the spiritual life, many Christians assume it’s totally different. Perhaps it is a fear of works-based righteousness. Or they’re waiting, as a pastor I talked to yesterday put it, for a ​“holy zap” from God to eliminate a recurring sin or enable them to love well.

Whatever the reason, much spiritual growth has been stunted by lack of a concrete plan.

One of Renovaré’s messages throughout the years—and you can hear it in this 1999 message from Richard Foster—is that there are healthy ways in which we can intend to grow in grace. Rather than a feverish bid for God’s approval, our spiritual practices can flow from God’s approval. Rather than making a plan that becomes an idol we worship, we can make a plan to present our bodies to God as an act of worship. 

It’s possible to make grace-empowered progress in the spiritual life. But we do need an openhanded, God-surrendered plan.