Perkins Says to Plan With God in Mind

October 17, 2002

"You and I can plan our lives, but if we invite God into our planning, it will be more productive."

That was the assertion of Bruce Perkins, president of Shiloh Christian School in Springdale, Ark, at Oklahoma Baptist University's Oct. 16 chapel service.

"You never arrive at a destination by one giant leap," Perkins said. "It takes a series of steps."

He used Proverbs 16:9 to address three main questions concerning God's plans for students' lives.

Perkins said that it is important to invite God into the decisions of life because God's knowledge, word and presence are complete. God is able to tell the end from the beginning even before it happens, he said.

"He knows exactly what is happening," Perkins said. "He is able to make the plan secure."

Perkins told students that God is with them every step of the way if they allow him into their planning.

"God does not just give us the plan and take off," Perkins said.

Perkins asked students how often they sought God's counsel in their lives. He said that impatience and unwillingness to wait on God's plan is what leads to trouble.

"His presence must go with us if his plan is going to be realized in his power," Perkins said.

Perkins discussed how God reveals his plan through his word and his spirit. He encouraged students not to use the Bible as a maintenance manual for life, going to it only when there is a problem.

"God must become the creator and not just the consultant," he said.

Perkins told students that by allowing God to direct their steps, they become the objects of his pleasure. He also told students that like Psalm 37:24, by allowing God to direct their path, they would be under his protection.

"Do not forget to invite God into the planning," he said. "Live a life that is one small step for you, but a giant leap for the glory of God."

Perkins earned a bachelor's degree from Howard Payne University. He completed a master's of divinity form Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

He and his wife, Pamela, have two children.