“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.”
(Proverbs 19: 21)
God works all things according to His will. Ephesians 1:11: says that “In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.”
Let me say it again. He works all things according to the counsel of His will. I think that means He always controls everything…..period.
Now before you run 🏃♀️ away, let me share why this is a good idea, that God controls everything.
I remember a few exciting times in my youth when neighbors families would take me to Disneyland. How thrilling it was! I recall how I just couldn’t wait until I got behind the wheel of those little cars 🚘 when I had the exhilaration of driving the car myself!
Well, sort of, you see there was this cement barrier in the middle between the wheels that kept me from steering too far left or right, keeping me from crashing out of control! Needless to say, I felt safe, that someone else was actually “in control”!
The same thing goes for my own planning. It’s always better when God’s plan is in control, it leaves no doubt of it’s accuracy and success. I’m sure we all have a long list of failed plans, that just didn’t work out the way we hoped.
And of course as we grow older we kinda see why. We simply do not see the whole completed picture of that plan, and usually when it’s too late we recognize we forgot something.
Our understanding is finite, God’s understanding is infinite, He sees before and after.
No matter how much I prepare and plan, ultimately it I will come down to the will of God that will be done. In other words, any success or 🍎 fruit that I may experience will belongs not to me, but to Him.
“The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord” (Proverbs 21:31).
This is becoming even more clearer in my life that the fundamental goal in all my planning: is not that I get the victory, but that our God does.
Oh let it be more each day that I can be found 🎵 singing, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your Name I give glory, for the sake of Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness!” (Psalm 115:1).
Not only do I find myself wanting all my plans to honor Him, but I want them to lead me to more of Him.
“Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it……Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice” (Proverbs 15:16-16:8).
A little on earth with God is always better than abundance without Him. No matter how effective my plans are, as full as they might appear, if they are more my plans that leave me with less of God than they truly are of no effect, and If they do feel effective, I am deceived and have lost my anchor, my rudder, my compass, my treasure: unless it be God and His glory.
“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand” (Proverbs 19:21)
In other words, many of our plans will not happen, because as good as they may have been, they were not in God’s perfect plan for us.
God’s Word has a lot to say about how carefully He manages every detail of the universe and consider if you will how even more details He manages quietly in your life, like your ♥️ heart, your lungs…
“The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord”
(Proverbs 16:33).
“Not one bird 🦅 falls from the sky apart from Him.”
(Matthew 10:29).
“He places every petal on every lily in every field”
(Matthew 6:28–29).
“Even evil cannot escape His plans for good”
(Proverbs 16:4).
“I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted”
(Job 42:2).
God knows infinitely more than we do, and can do infinitely more than we can and why then should we be surprised in the least when He has planned differently than we have?
So then, “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established” (Proverbs 16:3).
Make time for planning, yes, and aim to do all for the glory of God, and then entrust yourself and your plans “to a faithful Creator while doing good”
(1 Peter 4:19).
Walking the Berean Road 