My reading in Proverbs brought me to 19:21, which reads, “There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s counsel– that will stand.” I want to just take a minute and think about the truth of this proverb. Many times each of the individual proverbs are read over with only a glancing view to the reality of their truth, I want to make sure not to do that with this proverb. I think that God offered Solomon a unique look into the heart of man and the sovereignty of God when he wrote this proverb. Something that the Bible tells us about men, and the way God created them, was that they are to be cultivators and managers, we were commanded by God to subdue and steward over the earth. So it is natural for us to plan and prepare and try to manage in ways to make this instinctual desire come to be. This is a fact that brings glory to God; we should not try to subdue these desires, we should let them glorify God. The problem that we see revealed in this proverb is not our desire to plan and manage and cultivate, the problem is when we do so out of our sinful nature. When God created us and built these instincts into us as a race He did so in view of His righteous and pure creation, but then due to Adam’s sin and rebellion against God all that was lost. We now have the same desires that God gave us for the purpose of stewarding and subduing the earth for God’s glory, yet we use them for our own glory. We plan and prepare and cultivate in ways that fulfill our own desires, which take the glory from God and gives it to us. Solomon cues in on this and offers some wisdom to us, he says that our plans are many but only God’s plans have any lasting value. To follow our own plans will only end in destruction and death. God’s plans are righteous and everlasting, so much so that to follow any plan other than God’s is futile. We can all speak to the validity of Solomon’s statement. We have all had our best-laid plans blown away with the wind. We have all seen hours, days and months of planning and preparing get thrown out like an old newspaper, worthless the day after it is printed. In our hearts we know this is true.
Now we face the real issue, due to our rebellious hearts and sinful nature we cannot follow God’s plan. All we see is our own glory; we can’t look to God’s. How do we overcome this? We don’t, we can’t, but God can, and did. Through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, righteousness has been imputed to us and we can now look to the glory of God. Through the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit we can look away from our glory and give glory to God. We can put down our plans and take up the plans of God.
As I meditate on this passage three questions come to mind. 1. What plans do you have in your life that are your own and that aren’t God’s? To these I would say, they will amount to nothing so place no weight on them because they will crumble. 2. Do you know Jesus as your personal savior? He is the only way that you can take up God’s plans and make your plans line up with His. He is the only way that you can have anything that will stand. 3. Do you now what God’s plan for you is, or even for life in general? Find out what God’s plan for your life is, this way you can begin to glorify him. The real question is this, do you want your life’s efforts to be a part of something futile or do you want them to be a part of something that will stand?
Father I praise you for the men that you have sent before us to pass on your words. I thank you for scripture and for the obedience of men like Solomon to pass on to us your very words. As I read your word and you reveal truth to me help me to apply it my life and stand on your teachings. Make my life a reflection of you, through Christ. Help me to pass on all the truth that you reveal to me that I can be seen as faithful in your eyes. May your plans be my life’s plans and may I always seek to give you glory. In Jesus name I pray, amen.
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