A Balanced Biblical View On Making Plans

July 7, 2025

Should Christians Make 5-Year or 10-Year Plans? What the Bible Actually Says

If you spend any time around business people, self-help books, or even church leadership conferences, you’ll eventually get asked: “What’s your 5-year plan?” Or maybe, “Where do you see yourself in 10 years?” It sounds smart. Strategic. Responsible. But if you’re someone who wants to live your life according to the Bible, you might wonder—does the Bible actually support this kind of long-range planning? Or is it just a worldly idea dressed up in business-casual language?

Let’s dig in.

The Case for Planning

First off, the Bible isn’t anti-planning. Far from it. Proverbs is basically an ancient handbook for not making dumb decisions. Take these for example:

  • “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.” (Proverbs 21:5, ESV)
  • “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” (Proverbs 16:3, ESV)

You get the sense God is totally fine with you thinking ahead. In the Old Testament, Joseph stored up grain for seven years of famine—talk about long-term planning. Nehemiah rebuilt Jerusalem’s walls with a detailed plan in hand. Jesus even talks about counting the cost before building a tower (Luke 14:28-30).

So, making plans isn’t just okay—it’s actually wise.

The Limits of Planning

But here’s where the Bible offers a twist. It never lets us believe we’re actually in control of the future.

James, the brother of Jesus, gets straight to the point:

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring… Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’” (James 4:13-15, ESV)

Translation: Make your plans, but hold them with open hands. God’s the one who decides what happens next. The wise planner is humble enough to know they aren’t God.

Faith, Not Presumption

Long-term goals aren’t the problem. The problem is pretending you can see the future, or that your plans are the only ones that matter. The Bible pushes us to plan—but always with a “God willing” attitude.

Think about Jesus’ story of the rich fool in Luke 12: The guy stores up years’ worth of stuff, thinking he’s set. God calls him a fool because “this very night your life will be demanded from you.” The lesson isn’t “Don’t plan;” it’s “Don’t plan like you’re in charge of everything.”

So, Should You Make 5-Year Plans?

Absolutely—just don’t treat them as gospel. Use your God-given wisdom to set goals, make strategies, and steward your life well. But always—always—be ready for God to change the script.

The Christian approach to planning is less “here’s my five-year plan, and nothing will stop me,” and more, “here’s where I think God is leading me—let’s see what He does.”

Practical Advice

  • Plan wisely, prayerfully, and with humility.
  • Don’t cling so tightly to your plans that you can’t change direction if God closes a door.
  • Invite God into your planning process. Ask for His wisdom, not just His rubber stamp.

When you make your next five-year plan, put it in pencil, not pen.