Making Progress: Creating a Plan to Close the Gap Between Where You Are and Where You’re Going

Many of us have dreams and destinations we want to reach, but we often find ourselves stuck in the same place year after year. The problem isn’t usually that we lack vision or goals – it’s that we don’t have a plan for progress. We know where we want to end up, but we haven’t figured out how to close the gap between where we are now and where we want to be.

What Does Progress Really Mean?

Progress is simply closing the gap between where you are right now and where you’re going. It’s not about having a perfect plan for when you arrive at your destination – it’s about having a plan to get there. Too many people spend time planning what they’ll do when they reach their goals, but they never create a strategy for making forward movement.

Learning from Abraham’s Journey

Abraham’s story in Genesis 12 provides a powerful example of making progress through faith. God called Abraham to leave his homeland and go to a land He would show him. But notice something important: Abraham didn’t start his journey in complete obedience. He got partway to his destination and settled in Haran, becoming comfortable and stuck there.

Even Faith-Filled People Get Stuck

Abraham is called the father of faith, yet even he experienced being stalled in his progress. This teaches us that getting stuck doesn’t disqualify us – it’s simply part of the human experience. We can get stuck in our pain, our problems, or our delays. But the good news is that while we may be stalled, God isn’t. His promises and plans for our lives remain active.

God Gives Second Chances

When Abraham was settled and comfortable in Haran, God came to him again and said, “Remember what I already told you? It’s time to keep moving.” This shows us that God doesn’t abandon His plans for our lives when we get stuck. He gives us opportunities to put our “obedience boots” back on and continue making progress.

Why We Need Plans

The Bible is clear that people need plans. Proverbs tells us that plans are in the heart of man, and that good planning combined with hard work leads to prosperity. Success is the result of the choices you make and the actions you take, and the best way to predict good choices and actions is to have a plan.

Plans Help Predict Success

When you have a plan, you’ve already predetermined the right choices and actions you’ll take in different circumstances. You know what you’ll do when times are good, when times are bad, when you’re making much progress, or when progress is slow. This allows you to be more intentional about creating your own success rather than waiting for accidental success.

What the Bible Says About Planning

Scripture gives us several key principles about planning:

• We can make our plans, but the Lord gives the right answer (Proverbs 16:1)
• We should commit our actions to the Lord so our plans will succeed (Proverbs 16:3)
• We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps (Proverbs 16:9)
• Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity (Proverbs 21:5)

Key Principles for Creating a Progress Plan

You Know the Direction, Even If You Don’t Know the Destination

You may not know exactly how your dreams will unfold or when they’ll happen, but you already know the direction you need to go. God has placed a compass inside you to help you find your purpose. Stop saying “I don’t know what to do” and start listening to that inner direction God has given you.

Pray for God to Make You, Not Just Give You

Most of our prayers focus on asking God to give us things – give me this job, give me this house, give me this relationship. But we need to pray more for God to make us into the kind of person who can handle what we’re asking for. Pray: “Make me the kind of person who can have that, do that, accomplish that.”

If you make progress in external things (finances, career, possessions) without making progress in your character, what you gain will eventually crush who you are. You need to build both your outer capabilities and your inner character simultaneously.

Get the Right Plan – From God, Not for God

There’s a difference between getting a plan from God and giving a plan to God. Many people create their own plans and then ask God to bless them. Instead, we should ask God what His plan is for our lives and align ourselves with His purposes.

You can either wait for God’s perfect will (like Isaac) or rush ahead with your own plan (like Ishmael). Both may be blessed, but they lead to very different outcomes and destinations.

The Power of the One-Step Plan

Abraham’s journey shows us the power of taking just one step at a time. He would move forward, build an altar, worship God, then take the next step. This teaches us a simple but powerful planning principle:

Take one step out of where you’re at right now and one step into where you’re going.

That’s it. You don’t need to figure out the entire journey – just identify one step you can take away from your current situation and one step you can take toward your goal.

Examples of One-Step Planning

• Finances: One step out of debt (pay more than minimum payments) and one step into blessing (start tithing/giving)
• Career: One step out of your current limitations (gain new skills) and one step into your calling (apply for positions in your desired field)
• Health: One step out of unhealthy habits (eliminate one bad habit) and one step into wellness (add one healthy practice)

Measure Milestones, Not Just Distance

Don’t measure your progress only by how far you have to go. Instead, measure it by the steps you’ve accomplished. Every step you take is a win. Every step moves you closer to your destination.

When you reach a milestone, celebrate it. Abraham built altars and worshiped God at each stage of his journey. Take time to acknowledge your progress and thank God for His faithfulness.

Set Goals You Can Act on Now

If you have a goal but you can’t do anything about it right now, then your goal is too far away. You need closer goals – things you can actually take action on today. Goals should start with “go” – they should motivate immediate action, not just future dreaming.

Plan to Be a Blessing, Not Just Have a Blessing

God told Abraham that through him, all nations would be blessed. God’s first covenant was actually a missions covenant – a plan to bless other people. We’re not called to just maintain what we have; we’re called to multiply it and use it to bless others.

From Maintenance to Multiplication

Look at the things in your life that you’re just trying to maintain. God didn’t give you those things to store them or keep them the same – He gave them to you to multiply and increase. This applies to your:

• Influence
• Education
• Properties
• Investments
• Business
• Relationships
• Resources

When you increase your value in these areas, you become more valuable, and valuable people get paid more and have greater impact.

Life Application

This week, create your own one-step plan. Identify one specific step you can take out of where you’re currently stuck and one specific step you can take toward where God is calling you. Don’t worry about having the entire journey mapped out – just focus on these two steps.

Remember that preparation for prosperity involves good planning combined with hard work. Start with what you already know you need to do, and trust God to direct your steps as you begin moving.

Questions for Reflection:

• What direction do you sense God leading you, even if you can’t see the full destination?
• What’s one step you can take this week to move away from where you’re stuck?
• What’s one step you can take this week to move toward where God is calling you?
• How can you shift from maintaining what you have to multiplying it for God’s purposes?
• What character qualities do you need to ask God to develop in you as you pursue His plans for your life?