There is nothing wrong with planning, as long as we plan to please God and are willing to change our plans to fit in with His (James 4:13-15).  Paul knew his call from God; it was to preach the gospel where people did not know about Jesus (Romans 15:20).  So, having preached his way through, what is now, Turkey and Greece (and possibly into Albania), Spain was the next horizon.  The much-anticipated visit to the church in Rome was only planned to be a stop-over en route.

However, he did not know that Rome would be his final destination.  As far as we know, he never reached Spain but spent his time in Israel and then transported to Rome as a prisoner under guard and under threat of his life.  So, was he right to presume that Spain was next in the itinerary?  Yes!  He was a man with spiritual ambition and felt responsible to work out his ministry call in the best way he knew.

Of course, God intervened on a number of occasions (Acts 16:6-10), changing the direction or place of the ministry, but Paul knew he was accountable and should set spiritual goals for fulfilling God's call on his life while trusting that He would change the journeys and destinations.  So, many times things did not work out as planned (2 Corinthians 11:23-33) but that did not stop Paul from making the best plans he could and submitting them to the Lord for approval or alteration.

Today, some believers are muddled about whether they should plan ahead or do nothing unless God takes action.  Paul's example is helpful.  He believed that the Lord had given him a commission (Acts 26:15-18) along with wisdom, discernment and energy through the Holy Spirit.  He believed that he should plan to carry out his calling, as far as he was able, but was willing to allow his course to be changed by God.  Paul was prayerful but not passive.  William Cary, the English missionary to India in the early 19th Century, said, ‘Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God’. Where is Christ-like courage to be found today?  Only in the lives of people whose horizons are bigger than their resources; and where their goal is the glory of God.  Whatever your situation, do not limit yourself to what you know, but trust yourself to the Lord who knows you.