 So, we're looking at Psalm 32 verse 8 and the Lord is saying, I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go, I will guide you with my heart. And it seems like through the, you know, the I will of God and saying, Lord is saying, you know, I will do this, I will instruct and I will teach and I will guide. So that's a great promise reassurance for us. And in the same vein, you know, the same thought he's saying, you know, do not be like this, you know, because I will be like this, but you do not be like this. And the Lord is saying, you know, don't be like the mule, don't be like the horse, which is, it's going to be tough to bring them, you know, unless I put a, you know, harness, unless I put a bit and bridle, you know, we're not going to be able to control them. And that must be, they must be kind of led by force with that bit and bridle. So with the bit and bridle can control them. So don't be like that. Like, don't be like that. You come off your own free will. You come off your own choice. And this is what I will, I want to do. You know, I will instruct, I will teach and I will guide. So it's really wonderful that the Lord of heaven and earth, his desire or his will is that for us to be taught by him, for us to be instructed by him, for us to be guided by him. Look at that. The last part of that was eight. It says, I will guide you with my eye. So this teaching and instruction and specifically this guidance is from a place of intimacy, you know, from a place of closeness. It says, I will guide you with my eye, meaning normally, if you, if you want guidance from someone who someone is guiding you through their eye, you know, saying, through a gesture or through an expression, you need to be able to look at them, observe them closely and, you know, have a clear vision of their expressions. So the Lord is inviting us to that place of closeness and intimacy and is saying, you know, I want to be that. I actually want to do that. Right. So this is something which is something very reassuring, right. And that the Lord would invite us to that place. And sometimes we struggle, you know, what is it, God? What do you want me to do? But the Lord is saying, and this is my heart's desire to teach, to instruct, to guide. Right. So let's pray and then just open up our hearts and say, Lord, you teach, you instruct, you guide. I'm willing. I'm willing. I surrender. And I want to come to that place of receiving from you. Right. Okay. Let's pray. That Lord, for these words Lord, for revealing your heart, Lord, when it comes to instruction, teaching, guidance for revealing your heart, Lord, and it just fills us with so much hope and so much reassurance and faith. God, it just dispels all fear of Lord lack of clarity. Just Lord dispels all fear and knowing that it is your will, your desire to teach and instruct and guide. And Lord, we thank you that you're inviting us to this and you're saying that you want to do this from a place of intimacy, from a place of intimacy. God. And so God, we thank you. We receive this invitation, Lord, when we respond to that invitation, God, and we want to thank you for this invitation. Continue to speak to us. Continue to lead us, Lord. And maybe grow in this aspect of receiving teaching, receiving instruction and receiving guidance, God, and acting on them for your glory. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Okay, so I hope your week's been good. Strip your reference, Rosalind. Okay, Psalm 32 and verse 8. Yeah. So how's the week been? Good, bad, ugly. Busy. Yeah, I know. Busy. Right. So today we'll continue from where we... This is good. Nice to see you, Shubhash. And Lubega. Praise God. Okay. Zalitoli is also there. Okay. Okay, so let's look at... We've been looking at life skills. And I think last class we looked at... We stopped with this thing, this chapter on personal planning and planning for our development. See, I'm sure all of us or all of you have planned and executed your plan to be doing this course. To be here to some extent. So you plan and you said, okay, this is how it is going to work out. I'm going to satisfy so many years and I'm going to do this. I don't know whether you consciously thought of it or not or just went to the flow. But really you did consciously or otherwise you kind of planned some things. So how will it be if we can plan our personal development? Saying that, okay, for this ministry to minister at this level or this work or this business of this profession that I'm in, to keep moving upward or to progress in what I'm doing to get better at what I'm doing, to do things effectively so that there can be better results, there can be fruitfulness. Now, how can that happen? Okay, so it can happen in two ways. You know, we just go with it and whatever happens happens, right? And if it's good, okay, we struggle. I mean, if there's a challenge, we struggle, there are problems we see. And then we, you know, at that time, we begin to see for options, look for options, look for solutions and we try and overcome or it could be that we plan and say, this is what, you know, where we want to be. So when we are planning, so first of all, you know, some basic question, is it good to plan or not? Doesn't it seem unscriptural, unspiritual, not unscriptural. Doesn't it seem unspiritual to plan? You know, no. We see the God is the God of plan. He says, my counsel stands forever, right? So God is a God who gives thought to what he's doing and says, you know, Jeremiah 23, I think, yeah, Jeremiah 29, 11, right? Where he says, my thoughts, the plans that I have for you are good plans, right? So which means that he has planned certain things for us, right? We look at, I think it's efficient. Let's read that verse. Efficient chapter, you know which verse I'm going to write. Efficient chapter 2 and verse 10, right? Efficient 2 and verse 10. It says, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them, okay? Good works, good deeds, good things that God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them or we should live them out or we should encounter them and walk in them. So what has he done? He has prepared beforehand. What is planning? It's exactly that. You prepare beforehand. You give thought beforehand. When we give thought, when we set aside time, when we set aside resources, I mean, we do that beforehand. You know, how do you plan for something? Plan for maybe having some guests over. You invite them for a dinner or a meal. You plan, you think beforehand and say, okay, 10 people are coming. So this is what I need to plan. It needs 10 plates at least. It needs 10 glasses. It needs all these things. These are the dishes. So you're thinking beforehand. So that's it. So it's something that we do normally. And so that is what it is. So when it comes to our life, maybe the ministry that God has called us to, the things that God has called us to do, to plan, to think beforehand and to plan, prepare beforehand is not unspiritual. And we need to do that. And when we need, when we do that, we come to a place of knowing what we are going for. And there's a lot of things that happen because of that. There's motivation, there's inspiration, there's direction. And a lot of it we studied in our Christian leadership class. We looked at all those aspects. So Christian leadership, we've done it all. And just suddenly, yeah. Okay. So let's look at, let me just share the screen. Okay. So let's look at, you know, what are these elements of our personal plan? I hope it's clear. Just one second, please. Is that better? Yeah. Okay. So a clear vision of where we want to go, which means what do we want to achieve and why do we do that? You know, the thing is the why is very important because the reason for, you know, doing ministry, the reason for, you know, doing business, the reason for working at a certain place, the why is important. Okay. And then the what will follow. The what will actually gain momentum. The what will actually, you know, have a lot of focus when we are clear about why we are doing it. The intention. Right. So that's the thing. So if you're having clarity with regard to why, and how do we get clarity about the why? Anybody? Why we want to do something, you know, how do we get clarity on that? How do you think? Why are you doing this course? Right? Why are you studying the subject? So how do you, yeah, someone? Passion, desire, burden. Sorry, go ahead. Passion for that particular... Passion for that particular field, is it? Okay. So you seem to have a passion, meaning a burning desire. This is what I want to do. And so I'm doing it. This is what I want to do. Every morning you get up and this is what it is. This is what you live for. And this is the desire there. So, yeah. So you're saying purpose, vision, yeah. So all that goes into the why. So clarity about the vision. So the Bible in the word of God declares that people perish for lack of vision or lack of knowledge. People perish because where there is no vision, people perish. So what does it talk about? It talks about the big picture. It talks about the why. Why am I here? So when we lose the sense of why, there is no hope. There is no hope. You know, people come to a place saying, why am I here? Why am I even here? Why am I doing what I'm doing? I've seen all that is to see. I've experienced all that is experience. You know, why am I even here? People lose a sense of hope and direction and that can be disastrous. But praise God. God gives us that desire. There's a sense of purpose. And even though we might not have clarity in different stages of life, different seasons of life, even though we may not have full details, full clarity, but God gives us that sense of vision and purpose. So a clear sense when it comes to our personal planning. So vision is very, very important. The why is very important. So from that comes the what. So what am I doing? This is what I want to do. This is why I'm doing it and this is what I want to do. So in that, a good sense of the skills that are required, abilities that are required in order to do that what? So maybe God is calling you to be a missionary to a particular nation or maybe to a particular state. And then you realize that if I need to communicate, if I need to be in that region, then I need to know the language. I need to know the language in order to communicate. I got this why, I got the what, but I need some skills. I need some abilities in order to communicate. So we read about William Carey. William Carey, if he was an apprentice for the shoemaker and during his free time, he learned the scriptures. He also, when he came to India, he learned the language. He learned that skill. He realized that well, he had a gift for languages but he engaged a tutor in order to learn the languages, in order to translate and learn the languages so that he could, he did a great job of translating the Bible into so many Indian languages. So the thing is, one needs to learn the skill. So some of these questions that are on the screen, do you need certain skills in order to get a particular job or in the job or, you know, we're using job, it could be professional, it could be, you know, the carrier or it could be ministry, right? What are those skills required? Maybe if it's a language skill, maybe it's something to do with finances, maybe it's something to, you know, what is it that is required? So identify that, right? So from the why and the what, to carry out that what, do I need certain skills? Now the, you know, this whole understanding of the skills I need, it could come from a place where I've not gone there yet, right? I need to do this, therefore I need these skills or it could come as a problem, right? It is a problem. I'm not able to solve this and to solve this problem, I need these, I need these skills, I need this ability. So the problem actually points us to, or is an indicator of certain skills, many things that we want to solve, things that are challenging to us and it really tests us and we are unable to get past that. That is an indication that I need a next level of skills, right? Another level of expertise or ability in order to, you know, in order to navigate this, in order to clear this and keep going. So that's another thing. So, you know, and people, you know, if you're in a particular profession, well, people could say you have an appraisal and from, you know, maybe you have an annual appraisal or an appraisal every six months and then the manager could say, you know what, these are good things that you're doing and these are some things that are challenging for you. You're not able to get past that and you need to upgrade your skills, right? And the word they use is up skill. You need to scale up your skills in order to, learn some things, learn some software, learn some abilities, learn some things. You need to up skill. So once you do that, you realize that you're able to go past and use that skill, use that ability, right? So to have a clear vision, to have clear understanding of what skills are required, right? So all this is, all this goes towards planning for our personal development, okay? So we see, we saw that planning is good. Planning is not unscriptural. It's not unspiritual, so we can do that, okay? So clear idea of also what standard I need to achieve, okay? So it talks about the, the bigness of the task. Also talks about the excellence level of that, okay? So what standard is required in order to reach that, you know? What standard, what level am I in right now and what level is required, okay? I'm able to, maybe, maybe it's an instrument and you're saying, okay, I'm playing, I'm able to play at that, this level, you know? For myself, individually, maybe for a small group. But if I need to play at a higher level with other musicians who are also skilled, then I need to make some changes to the way I play, right? I need to make some changes. Similarly, in terms of ministry, maybe you're saying, okay, God, you know, place me here, two or three people, you know, I'm sitting and I'm sharing scripture, I'm learning, we're all learning together. But if it's going to be another, you know, if you're going to increase my realm of influence and take me to certain groups of people with certain levels of expertise and expectation, God, what is it that I need to have? What is it that I need to know, right? So to minister at that level, okay? Then also priority, right? We cannot do everything all at once. I think like we looked at last class, we need to learn to prioritize. What is it that I can do now? What is it that I can invest in right now in my season of life, okay? Maybe you have a job, you have a family, and you have 24 hours only, right? So how within this, what can I prioritize right now and what is it that I can do later? Okay, very important. And a detailed, again, idea of where we are right now for each of these skills. Take it one step at a time, okay? So this, we see that it's a continuous thing, it happens, something that happens throughout our lives, okay? So we see that it's important to set certain achievable goals, okay? When it comes to personal development, achievable goals, personal goals. So to see what are those areas and what are those goals that I can actually, you know, set for myself, okay? So here's something to help us, okay? Academically, what are some goals, okay? In terms of career, what are some goals? In terms of finances, what are some goals? Okay, what is it that I can see when we look at these goals, you know, you're talking all worldly, worldly ways, right? Academics and career and money and all these things, this all seems very, very worldly, right? But the thing is this, it will seem worldly when we are not involving God, involving the Lord, we're not inviting the Lord into it. It will definitely seem worldly, okay? See, if you're looking, if you're in the, if you're called to be a marketplace working professional, you know, that is your call. God wants you to be an influencer, God wants you to be an influence in that place, okay? Now, you know, it will require these things. It will require some academics. It will require some, you know, career path, right? It will require all this. So to have goals in order to achieve is, is not something that is unbiblical, right? It will require this. So maybe we can, if you're in ministry, you can change it. You know, say, okay, what is the knowledge of the word? Maybe academic goals can be that, you know? What is it that I need to, maybe a course or maybe something that I need to learn this year? You know, what is it that I can invest in? You know, what do I need to do? So, you know, rephrase it that way, okay? Career, maybe, you know, you were looking in ministry and, you know, as a pastor, as a teacher, as someone, you know? So you don't have to, you know, call it career, but you're calling in terms of calling, in terms of ministry, what are certain things? What are certain dreams that God has put in your heart? You know, does that sit better, right? Able to receive that, okay? So we can say, okay, Lord, what is it? What are the dreams? You know, what is it that you want me to do? You know, what is it that, where do you want me to serve? And, you know, what next, Lord? Where do you want to go? And the thing is, like, if you look at, you know, the missionary journeys, they did, it is very ambitious. You know, you think of those times, we think of, you know, the missionary journeys of Paul and Silas and Barnabas later and Barnabas earlier and Silas later. We see that, you know, these were very, I mean, radical things which they did at those times and also something which was dangerous and it was, it took their life in a sense. It took a fair amount of their time, you know, like Paul spent some 18 months in Ephesus, I think, right? In 18 months there, just think about it, you're going and spending 18 months and you're not getting back home. You're spending 18 months there teaching, investing, establishing something and moving on. So, well, you need to, you know, to think and pray and involve God and that is what they did even before they started the missionary journey, right? So, they asked, they heard from God and then they, like, and definitely it will require finances, it will require, so monetary goals could be, you know, are really our prayer, it can be a prayer journey, it can be a prayer request, it can be a prayer need taken before God. So, similarly, you know, all these goals that can, you know, that can actually help us and having goals is important because only then can we know whether we have hit it or missed it, right? So, if we, you know, it's happened, right, we can talk about it, you know, oh, this year we really want to achieve this or this year we really want to get somewhere, this year maybe we want to go as a family, we want to have a vacation, we can talk about this all day long and then the year comes and goes and then at the beginning of next year we can be talking, you know, we never went anywhere, we never did that. So, all we did was, we wished that we could do something, we talked about it but there was no specific goal. So, a girl would have some focus, right? So, saying that, you know, I want to be in better shape physically, I want to be healthier this year, that's not a goal, right? A goal would be very, very specific, it will be time bound. It will be broken down to, you know, further sub-goals. It will be like, I'm going to eat this, I'm going to avoid eating this. I'm going to have my meal in a timely manner, meals in a timely manner. So, it will go into the details, right? I'm going to eat more vegetables or include more vegetables in my diet. So, things like that, right? So, we see that what would really, I mean, I'm sure you know this, that this acronym SMART, which means that, you know, each of these letters have, you know, have something in them. So, SMART plus would be specific, so make the goal specific. Make it measurable. You know, specific in the sense of not saying that I want to be, I want to be more knowledgeable but specific, in what? Okay, I want to learn more, okay, but in what? Okay, so saying, okay, maybe this topic, this subject and this book, right, you're making it specific. So, it's not something vague, it's very specific. And it's something measurable, which means that, you know, you're saying that, okay, in one year's time, I want to be this specific. Now, in half a year or half way into the year, can we actually measure and see where we have reached, right? So, the goal needs to be measurable. It needs to be, you need to have some parameters saying, okay, can I measure not only specific, but it needs to be measurable. So, maybe from, you know, one month into the year, two months into the year, three months into the year, I'm able to review this and see where have I reached, okay? So, that's the goal, it needs to be specific so that it can help us in progress towards achieving that goal, okay? Attainable, it needs to be attainable, okay? So, we've got a time frame, we've got specifics, we've got something measurable. So, it needs to be attainable, you know. So, attainable takes into consideration the season of life that you're in, what God has called you to do, you know, what are you calling, what season of life you are in. Like, for example, suppose suddenly now I decide to become an airline pilot, okay? Just consider the season of life, your qualification, your life experience, the way God has been moving, leading and suddenly if you want to shift everything and say, it's going to take some time. It's going to reorder your life completely, there's going to be a chance, it's going to disrupt completely. So, is it attainable? I want to be the president of this nation. I want to be the prime minister, it's a good thought, right? But you look at the way the Lord has been leading you, the way the Lord has been guiding you, what is the season of life that you are in, okay? In order to consider that and then say, okay, is it attainable? If it's attainable, just go for it, you know. It needs to be attainable, okay? Then relevant, meaning are these sub-goals, are they relevant in the sense, are they leading to that main thing, to the main picture, the big picture of the vision, right? Because if it's not relevant, if it's going to pull in a different direction and I'm not really going to help me navigate that and reach that big picture of the vision, then it's not a relevant goal, right? It could be a goal that is specific, measurable, you know, all that, attainable even, but it's not relevant, it's not linked to it. Because our goal, when we pursue a goal, it's going to take time. When you pursue a goal, it's going to take resources, right? Your time is a resource. You're going to set aside some resource, maybe financially to go after it. So is it relevant? You ask yourself, only you can answer that, right? Is it relevant? And also set a time, time box these goals. Let it not be forever and ever, okay? When are you going to achieve this? I don't know, I'll see. I'll see how long it takes. Then we will never achieve that, right? So if we are allergic to deadlines, you know, and say, maybe some of us who have been in sales and deadlines and they're saying, oh, I've had enough, I've had enough of deadlines. I've had enough of these monthly things at the end of it. There's a review and whether you've reached, not reached, et cetera. I've had enough of this. But the fact is they are helpful, right? Maybe we had bad experiences with it, but they're helpful when we put a time frame to it. Then we will actually go towards it, pursue, achieve that goal. Okay? So, yeah, so that's about goals. And so if the goal doesn't, I think it was Rosalind who said, you know, something that you're passionate about. If it's not, if it's not something that you're passionate about, it's not something that is, you know, that excites you to talk about it, to pursue it. Then maybe you need to review it, right? Review it and see what is it? Where is the passion gone? Why is it gone? Why is it? It need not be because the goal is wrong, right? It could be because of discouragement. It could be because of, you know, even sin in our lives, right? Because the Bible talks about how fleshly lusts war against the soul. You don't realize it, right? Maybe it's the fleshly lust and we indulging over and over again. Now that is producing war or it's in conflict against our soul, you know, against the renewed mind. So it's slowly breaking things off, dismantling the dream, bringing in, you know, discouragement creeps in, fear creeps in and all these things creep in and suddenly we realized that we don't have a passion, you know. The psalmist says, you know, restore to me the joy of salvation. He says, restore unto me the joy of salvation, right? So the joy of pursuing the goal, you know, when there's a joy, when there's passion, like, you know, we see in the lives of the disciples, they did impossible things, right? Like, why should Paul just get up on that ship, get into that and spend money and go at the risk of maybe even losing his life and go to another nation and talk about Jesus and establish, teach their people and maybe there are, you know, he's just being rejected and people are not applauding, approving and, you know, see, why should he do that? What caused him to do that? It's that passion. He says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. I realize that it is the power of God for salvation and this is something that is required. Romans chapter 1 verse 15 says, this is it. So maybe we just need to review our life goals. At that time, we were excited, but now it's not. So it need not be a wrong goal, right? It can be something that is stealing the passion. It's like a slow leak. It's like a puncture, right? Which is taking the life out of that particular goal. Yeah, so the thing is to review our goals. We can do that and is it relevant? Am I on track and all that? So goals, you know, so review it and see, you know, is it on track? What is happening? Why am I losing passion? Maybe it's a wrong goal. Maybe it's a wrong goal. It could be. So we need to kind of discard it, right? Again, so just for us to, you know, to encourage us to get into that whole thing of planning, like personal planning, and it's good to do that. It's good to have these goals. It's good to have, you know, personal goals and goals that we saw, you know, with regard to studies, with regard to work, with regard to maybe various other things, right? We can have that. Any questions or any thoughts here that you want to add? What has been your experience with, you know, with planning and working out the plan? Yeah. Anything that you want to share? Anyone? Yeah, I'm just going to share something that we saw earlier. Yeah, just one second, please. Okay, this is something that we looked at, right, in our Christian leadership. So how to work on a life plan? Just wanted to refresh our memory, right? So you have this. Okay. So what stage of life are we in? You know, what is the plan to go to the next level? And what are some things that, you know, these pursuits are, you know, different categories, maybe spiritually, personally, family-wise, finances, you know, and then you have these goals, right? So the thing is to involve God or really depend on God. Not just involving, but, you know, depending on God. Like, Proverbs 16-3, right? It says, commit your works to the Lord and He will establish your thoughts. So we commit, we commit to Him, surrender to Him and say, Lord, I'm in this season of life. And okay, maybe we did not do much or maybe we accomplished a lot of things, you know, whatever be the case, to say, God, you know, this is the season, this is the stage of life. You know, this is what I need to do in order to go to the next level in all these areas, right, spiritual life. Okay, I've been spending so much time or I've not been spending time, so I need to do that. And then you have a goal saying, okay, this is what I need to do. This is what I need to do. Okay? Right. So I think you can, maybe you can go back to this table. You can go back to these notes, use it as a ready reckoner and take a look at that, right? Okay. Okay, so just wanted to know what's your experience been in planning, working out your plan? And would anybody like to share what are some challenges that you'd faced while putting together the plan? Yeah. Yeah. Yes. If I mute my mic, okay. So I hope you can hear me. So one of the challenges that I face in planning is sometimes we just work at it, getting along with life, we made a plan and we thought this is what we're going to do. This is how things are done. But then there comes a point in life, maybe a shift, like it could be an educational shift or a shift in a place or something different might have happened in your life, which is unexpected. And then suddenly you just forget all the plans now because now you're focusing on your education and all. But then I have, I'm trying and I'm still learning to fix my eyes upon the plans and the goals and the purposes as much as I can, helping me to remember it again and again and again. This is what I have to do. Yeah. So I think that happens to all of us in the sense we have the plan. Now the plan we know is not going to be watertight. In the sense there are changes. Life happens. There are challenges, difficulties and these shifts and maybe certain disruptions happen and to the plan and then there's a work around. Maybe we lose time in the process. We lose energy and then we lose focus and the thing is like, as we pursue God, God reminds us of the desires that we put in our heart. He brings us back to certain things. Maybe certain disruptions are for the good, for the better in the sense that maybe that's not really taking us where we need to go. So there are certain disruptions, certain things, certain changes that happen. Maybe they are for our good. But the fact is that whatever causes these diversions, these distractions, these are literally the killers that distractions, discouragements and certain things that take us away. We lose time in the process and so on. Detours. So that's understanding that yes, this can happen and this has happened but I'm making that I'm going back. Whatever it is, I'm going back. Right? So one of the things we need to understand is our God is a redeemer. Right? He's a redeemer which means he's the best at doing that. He redeems us from where we are. Maybe where we have veered off the track, he brings us back and when he redeems us brings us back, it's higher further than when we actually went off. That's a beautiful thing. So he brings us back, he establishes and he takes us further and higher from the place where we stepped out. So that's a beautiful thing. Is it going to take some effort? Yes. Rebuilding is always difficult than building. So we have to clear out the things that some old stones are there, old stuff is there. So rebuilding is always kind of difficult but it is possible and it is done. Right? Okay. So how do we actually balance our plans and God's timing? Okay. So the plans involve so when we looked at plans, we said it needs to be specific, measurable, etc. If you're saying, okay God, I want to do this in one year or two years or whatever, or I want to be here or I want to be this in this time frame. Good. That's good. Well, it so happens that maybe it happens in a short while, maybe it happens and it takes double that amount of time. So we realize when we plan knowing with a lot of certain things are known, certain things are not known. There are known factors. We talked about skill, abilities. We're saying, okay, I'm sitting here and I want to go there but then these are some things that are known and the thing is there are several things that are unknown. Unknown to us, known to God. Right? So God works in seasons, we know that the season of equipping, commissioning the season of life that we are and God knows. And so God's timing is around that. Okay, so when we say we balance our plans we go with we go depending on God depending on him to lead and guide which includes his plan, I mean his timing, etc. Now, I can stretch that but because of my lack of cooperation I can do that. Right? In my execution of the plan I can stretch that time frame or I can even shorten the time frame by cooperating by obeying. So that is what it is when it comes to let's say balancing I don't know if we can use that balance you know but really it's it's being aware of and moving with God's timings. Whether it's a shortening of something or whether it's even extending or something because of certain things need to be in place. Right? And we know that knowing fully well that God's understanding of the future and God's God being with us in the journey that's the very reassuring part. Right? We can trust and we can actually go with it. Okay So we'll stop here and then we'll meet again next class. Thank you God bless. Bye-bye.