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Are You a Planner or Intuiter?
 

Planning too much is the serial killer of an intriguing, paranormal life in God. Think overscheduling, rigid scheduling, gapless activity sequences, little spontaneity, little stillness, hypersensitivity to sidetracks, poor listening skills, mind racing, etc. These beavers on caffeine might call this "planning" or some other glowing trait, but we know deep down something is off. A dysfunctional need to control. And this rises from unresolved roots like specific fears, loneliness, low self-esteem, sexual issues, etc.
    Minimalist or must-do planning is necessary and Biblical (Pr 15:22, 21:5). Control planning, though, is a high-achieving survival mechanism Febreze-ing something stinkier at the bottom of the laundry pile.


Control Planning Blocks Serendipity
 

Imagine a spectrum, with minimalist planning at one end and control planning at the other. As much as possible, we want to be on the minimalist planning half of that spectrum. The more we cross that midpoint or the longer we stay on the control half, the more we need to address our emotional substructure in God's presence.
    Staying in minimal planning opens space for serendipitous gifts to insinuate themselves to us. Minimal planning enables serendipity, overplanning blocks it out in defense of the almighty schedule. God's gifts rarely assert themselves to us aggressively. They insinuate themselves on the sidetracks and edges of our life, requiring an intuitive curiosity. A burning bush. A younger brother with God-dreams. A pretty woman gleaning in your field. A preaching weirdo who eats locusts. A prefurnished upper room.


Born-Again Intuition
 

The born-again life is an unforced life of intuition. While minimal planning is the must-do skeleton, everything else is intuitive moves and countermoves. Though the unsaved also have intuition, the saved have multiple "enhancers" to their intuition: the Spirit, the mind of Christ, Scripture, spiritual gifts, etc. Our born-again intuition is a clairvoyant multipotentiality to spot benefits, threats, and anything in-between.
    Hebrews 5:14 says we can grow these "senses" (NKJV). Gearshift out of control planning into an intuitive worldview. Plan the absolute necessities, but live by intuitive prayer. Pray and sense, pray and sense, pray and sense. Do not ignore impressions and nudges of grace that prompt spontaneous acts or venturesome risks. Take vibes, auras, subtext, gestures, and Freudian slips seriously. If you will get good at this intuitive way of being, you will find many God-gifts of serendipity hinting at you on the sidetracks and subtle edges of your life.

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