Don’t make plans and then ask for the Lord’s approval. Ask God to direct your planning.

Teenagers quickly learn that it is easier to ask forgiveness than to ask permission. If they ask for permission first, their request may be denied. So they go ahead and do what they want, and they are later prepared to say: “I’m sorry. I didn’t know I should not have done that.”

If we are honest with ourselves, we often take the same approach with God. We make our plans for what we want, and we leave God totally out of the planning process. After all of the choices have been made, we then involve God by asking Him to “bless” what we have already decided to do.

Don’t treat God like a magic wand that you wave over your plans. Involve Him in the decisions of your life at the very beginning. Let Him direct you (instead of the other way around).

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6