WHO MAKES YOUR PLANS?

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere Him. For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm.

The Lord foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance. From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from His dwelling place He watches all who live on earth — He who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. May Your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in You.

Psalm 33:8-22

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Did you have plans for today? I bet you did.

I mean, that’s what we do right? We plan today, we plan tomorrow, and we have plans for the weekend ahead. If you’ve ever went through any career counseling, you may have even been asked about your five year plan, about what you plan to do in the long term.

Companies have long range plans for success. Ditto for many churches who seek to visualize what the future holds. Election candidates tell us what plans they have for our communities or state or federal positions if elected.

Nations have plans as well. Some nations plan for prosperity and continued liberty. Some nations plan for a better life for their citizens. Some nations plan to gain power and world position.

Yes, there’s little doubt that making plans is a very part of the fiber of life. But are we going down the right path by making our plans, by thinking we’re in control of our destiny? Aren’t we forgetting about the One who gave the life we are trying to plan?

God’s word is truth and in today’s concluding verses from the 33rd Psalm, we should all brace ourselves because the Lord is speaking powerfully to every person and every nation about the matter of planning. Look at the words from this passage:

Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere Him. For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm.

The Lord foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance. From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from His dwelling place He watches all who live on earth — He who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. May Your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in You.

Did you read what God’s word says about planning? He speaks strongly on two fronts. Let me break them down for you.

First, what about you and I making our own plans?

God’s word says: “He (The Lord) foils the purposes of the peoples.”

God’s purpose is to be our purpose and His plan is to be our plan. When we try and take control and dictate what we will do with our lives, when we try to design and execute our own purposes, we will find ourselves thwarted. The only way that works is God’s way and the only way we’ll be in tune with that way is if we pray for and then receive and follow the will of the Lord as it is given to us.

Second, what about the nations or any other large organizations who think they are qualified to make their own plans?

God’s word says: “The Lord foils the plans of the nations.”

Nations have tried to make their own way without the Lord’s counsel. They have done it for the ages. Go back to any of the empires of the world, especially in biblical times. How did things turn out for the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, and the Romans? All rose to prominence, all had great plans for dominance, but they all fell.

Why?

Because they were not trusting and relying on the plans of the Lord and thus the Lord foiled the plans of the nations. He did it then, he is doing it today and he will continue to do it forever because God’s word says so. The Lord foils the plans of the nations.

So what about a nation that allows the Lord’s plan to be its plan?

God’s words says: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”

God’s word is truth. When a nation and its people place their faith and trust in the Lord’s plans, trusting God as their Lord, they will be blessed. Following God’s plan over our own leads us to a place where we fully revere and respect Him, a place where we are in constant awe and wonder over the perfection of the Lord’s plan as it is revealed in our lives. I can’t tell you how many times, I wasn’t sure where God was guiding my life but I trusted in His way, in the plans He had for me, with the end result being an outcome that was better than any I could have come up with in my wisest moment. And that outcome only validated the reason why we trust in the Lord to make our plans. For His plans never fail.

Meanwhile, man’s plans seldom end up where they think they will. For plans made outside of the Lord always seem to change, don’t they? Think about how many times you have had to change your plans. Think how many times a nation has had to change their plans. Most of the time, this is because either we or the nations are not allowing the Lord to dictate our plans.

For what happens when the Lord makes the plans?

God’s word says: “The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.”

Indeed, the plans of the Lord and only the plans of the Lord stand firm forever. It’s true today, it’s been true through all generations up to now and it will be so for all generations to come. Want to be in a place of stability? Stand on the firm foundation of the Lord’s plans for your life, the plan that is steadfast and true.

Yes, the Lord God always has THE plan in life. He has had the plan from the very beginning, from the very advent of all things. He spoke and everything came to be in accordance with His plan, not anyone else’s. And His plan has been carried out through all generations since the first men and women walked the earth.

Ultimately, God is in control and He holds the plan of life in His hands for everyone and every nation.  

And so what are we to do in life, what are the nations to do in life, as we patiently stand by for the Lord’s plans to play out?

God’s words says: “We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. May Your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in You.”

The answer to the question is easy.

We wait.

We wait in hope and we wait knowing the Lord, who is our Help and Shield, knows the best for us and wants the best for us. We place our hope and trust in His Holy Name and bask in the arms of His unfailing love that nurtures us and points us to Jesus and the final chapter of God’s intended final plan for all mankind, the salvation and eternal life gained by belief and trust in Christ as Savior, He being our perfect hope and the image of perfect love.

So, who makes your plans? Who do you place your hope and trust in?

My prayer is that it is the Lord Almighty, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, and the Maker of all plans.  

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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