“To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue. All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord.
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.” – Proverbs 16:1-3
These verses can be understood to mean that God controls the final outcomes of the plans we make. So why should we even make plans?
Ans: In doing God’s will, we must coordinate our efforts with God’s control.
God has a plan for your life—but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make plans too. He doesn’t want us to drift along, letting circumstances determine the direction of our lives. He wants you and I to be intentional about the path we choose. “Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path.”
– Proverbs 4:26 (NLT)
The Bible gives many reasons for planning, and we share three(3) that are foundational.
1. God makes plans.
Jeremiah 29:11 says, “‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
- God wants us to be like Him. So, if God makes plans, then we should make plans too.
- There’s one thing God is not: “God is not a God of disorder” (1 Corinthians 14:33).
- Do you have any plans for the rest of the year? The next 5-10 years?
- If you haven’t made any plans for your life, then it’s likely your life is out of order—and that’s not how God created you and I to live.
2. God expects you to plan because it is beneficial to your life.
Throughout Scripture, particularly in the book of Proverbs, the Bible talks about the value of planning your life.
Proverbs 4:26 says, “Mark out a straight path for your feet.” That’s just another way of saying, “Make a plan; have a guide.”
• God tells us to plan because He doesn’t want us to live a life of confusion as we muddle through each day. The Bible says, “Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way” (1 Corinthians 14:40).
3. God doesn’t want us to waste our lives.
Planning is a matter of stewardship. Your life is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God.
Ephesians 5:15-17 says, “Live life, then, with a due sense of responsibility, not as [those] who do not know the meaning and purpose of life but as those who do. Make the best use of your time, despite all the difficulties of these days. Don’t be vague but firmly grasp what you know to be the will of God” (PHILLIPS).
The old cliché is true: “If you’re failing to plan, you’re planning to fail.” Dear friend, take steps today toward building a better future by writing down a simple plan. Then ask God for help every day to move forward in faith.
In much of what we do, God gives us free will to plan and work out the details. He has given us His Word as a guide. God wants us to use our minds, to seek the advice of others, and to plan.
Nevertheless, He delivers the final results. Good planning seeks God’s desires and leads to our acting His way. Let’s live for God, asking Him for guidance while we plan, and then trusting Him when we act on our plans.
Stay blessed and do share your wisdom lessons from Proverbs 16. Remember to tag us on 📲:
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