This is one of my most favorite passages where Jesus talks about goal setting. He lays out a phenomenal plan that we should always follow when we are planning our future…let’s break it down…

Luke 14:28

28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?

1.) Suppose One Of You

I love how Jesus calls out people here. Suppose one of you…He is pointing the finger, getting people to put themselves in this parable. Jesus always had and has a way of getting us to think and get real. So I love how He immediately comes out and says, “One of you.” He is getting the people to think about their own life and how they should live.

2.) Wants To Build A Tower

So Jesus could have referenced anything here…build a house, build a chair, build a chariot, build a snowman, but He chooses to use a tower. Why? Well, when I hear a tower I immediately think about something high, tall, large, long reaching, etc… I take this as Jesus saying if your going to build, build BIG. Go for the tower that is high and lofty. Jesus was always an all out kind of guy, so the tower reference makes sense. I believe God has called us to live a life that is worthy of His power. A small wooden toy was not what Jesus was making an example of, He was giving a picture of the kind of dreaming and building He wants us to do…and that is impossible BIG stuff.

3.) Won’t You First Sit Down

So the first step in planning our future and the things God wants to do in us is to sit down. Not just go, but to sit down first. This means we have to take time to slow down and let God download His plans into us. We can’t rush out ahead without first taking time to sit down, pray, and think. Too many people are in such a hurry that they fail to spend time sitting with God and allowing Him to speak. So in our BIG ambitions let us first sit down and allow God to direct us in the right things.

4.) And Estimate The Cost

Make no mistake, God’s grandiose plans for our life will cost us. Salvation is free, but living a life of significance cost something. The greater the purpose, they greater the cost. Everyone will have to pay a price to live a life of significance. That price is different for everyone, but everyone must pay. In order for us to experience God’s power in our life, we have to be willing to let go of the powerless stuff. As my mentor Dr. John Maxwell taught me…we have to give up in order to go up. Jesus warns us that in order to achieve greatness we must estimate the cost.

5.) To See If You Have Enough Money

Money wasn’t the literal object here, it is an example of something even greater. Do you have enough willingness to let go of whatever it is you possess to pay the price is the principle. This means do you have enough humility to pay the price? Do you have enough skill (that you have been using) to pay the price, do you have enough faith to pay the price? Or maybe He is asking you to financially invest into His plans for your life. Again, whatever the cost is we must pay it with what we have. God will never call us to something we can’t attain. If He has called us to it, He will see us through it, if we will trust Him enough to do it.

6.) To Complete It

God will bring us to completion. He is faithful to finish what He has started when we are willing to sit down and pay the price for His plans for our life. God wants nothing more than to use you and I to make a significant impact in this world. He will supernaturally give us the resources and provision when we step out for Him. He will complete the dreams and calling He has given you when you step out and trust Him ALL along the way. Never fear that you will miss it when God is leading you. He will never forsake you or leave you alone in your quest, never forget that, no matter how abandoned you may feel.