Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they
succeed.
Commit
to the Lord whatever you do, and he will
establish your plans.
In
their hearts humans plan their
course, but the Lord establishes their steps.
Many
are the plans in a person’s
heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that
prevails.
Plans
are established by seeking advice; so if you wage war, obtain guidance.
A
person’s steps are directed by
the Lord. How then can anyone understand their
own way?
There
is no wisdom, no insight, no plan
that can succeed against the Lord.
Proverbs 15:22, 16:3, 16:9, 19:21,
20:18, 20:24, 21:30
This ends this reading from God's holy word.
Thanks be to God.
What are your future plans?
I think we all consider them, don’t we?
It’s a part of our human nature. We live in the here and now, dealing
with life’s circumstances as they are, but we also look ahead and make plans
for our future, even though it is completely unknown to us. Sometimes those
plans work out. Sometimes they don’t but it doesn’t seem to deter us to still
try and plan ahead.
When people ask us about our plans, we are eager to share them with
others and when they question whether or not we will be able to achieve our
future goals the way we want to, we often refer to the question by saying, “That’s
the plan.”
I remember one such time in my life that I would like to use as an
illustration for today’s devotion and although the story is filled with my own
personal experiences, the overall message is here transcends that and is
applicable to anyone else who goes through similar circumstances and I feel I
am safe in saying we all will go through them sometime in the course of our
lives. So here’s my testimony followed by the message from God’s word today and
how it applied across my situation and how it will apply to your as well when
it comes to this matter of making plans.
I was stationed in Djibouti, Africa, while serving in the United States
Navy. The tour was one year long and it was unaccompanied, meaning I went
alone. My wife had to remain home while I was gone. Now, one year is a long
time and the days were long and arduous, often 16 hours or more in duration. It
was enough to make anyone count down the days to being able to return home.
As that time drew near, my wife Grace and I started to make plans for
our reunion. Things couldn’t have seemed more perfect the way they were playing
out. I was flying out of Djibouti the day before my 50th birthday which would
put me home on my big day. I couldn’t think of a better birthday present than
getting back to my lovely wife. To place something special on the reunion
radar, I had purchased front row seats to a Christian music concert in
Fredericksburg, VA, just a short 1 ½ hour drive away from Virginia Beach. The
plan was to attend the concert and then stay overnight making it a quick little
vacation built for two. We were both excited about the concert as well as just
spending time together again.
At least, that was the plan. But unfortunately (and I say that strictly
from a worldly perspective), it didn’t happen the way it was conceived.
The beginning of the plan’s collapse came three weeks before I was due
to come home. My phone rang in Djibouti and it was the person who was coming to
relieve me of my duties. The plan was for him to be there several days before I
was due to leave so we could turn over and then I would go and he would serve
his one year there. I was ready to discuss the turnover plan with him when he
shared with me that he was not coming, that he had been medically disqualified
for high blood pressure and had been pulled from the deployment.
My heart sank as quickly as my plan.
You see, there was no alternate. The medically qualified relief was my
lifeline to getting home and the lifeline had broken. I wouldn’t be coming home
on time and there was a major change of plans happening right before my very
eyes.
I will tell you, this wasn’t easy. I was so sure the plan was solid and
would happen just the way I had envisioned it. But it didn’t. I had to call
Grace and tell her I would not be on that plane on the 4th. The concert tickets
had to be given away to another couple. The hotel room had to be cancelled.
I remember being angry at what had transpired and I wallowed in my own
self pity for several days. Then I came to my senses and realized what was
really going on through it all.
For although my plan had fell through, God’s plan had taken its place.
That was the plan in play.
This sudden epiphany left me more than a little embarrassed about the
way I had reacted to the change in plans. There I was, a man of deep faith
acting like I was spiritually immature and without an ounce of righteous sense.
I prayed and asked the Lord for forgiveness, forgiveness for the way I had
acted and forgiveness for the biggest mistake I had made – not seeking His
advice and counsel before I made my grand plans.
You see, had I consulted the Lord as to whether I should make plans for
the future, He would have led me to not set things up like I was going home on
time and I believe He would have prepared me for what was to come. But I didn’t
do that and so I shouldn’t have been too shocked when things fell apart. I
thought I had learned my lesson a long time ago and consult the Lord fully to ensure
my will was His will.
I didn’t do it in this instance and experienced the consequences for it.
So was all lost as a result of this change of plans? Absolutely not. In
fact, the change of plans manifested itself in a major blessing.
You see, after I prayed for forgiveness, I asked the Lord to reveal to
me His purpose for keeping me there longer. The answer to that prayer was an
eight week, marriage Bible study I taught, The Love Dare Bible study. It was
during those eight weeks that the lives and relationships of twelve men were
changed with one in particular finding their marriage positively impacted and transformed
forever.
In the case of this individual, the plan was to end the marriage. They
weren’t getting along and things looked dire. He thought he would take the
class because he had nothing to lose. As the class started in week one, he
shared his testimony and the fact that he thought his marriage was going to
end. In week two, his demeanor was as resigned as in the first week. But then
something amazing happened. The Lord was moving in this person’s life and in
his marriage. For in week three, he came into class with a whole new aura about
him. The burdens seemed to be completely lifted from his shoulders regarding
his relationship and where there was once despair, there was now hope. And as
he went through the next five weeks, this just got better and the reason for
why I was kept there very evident.
Fast forward to a year ago. I ran into this same person after I had
retired from the Navy. His face was still as lit up as it was when the Lord
came into his heart and his marriage in Djibouti. He shared with me about how
well his marriage was thriving and that he and his wife had another child. I
couldn’t help but be buoyed up in joy for him and in thanksgiving to the Lord
who dashed my plans to change his life.
Friends, I tell you all this to say that plans are not worth the time
spent making if you don’t include the Lord into the planning process. His will
is going to be done one way or another so you may as well consult Him
beforehand. Trust me when I say that it will save you a lot of trouble in the
long run and will expose you to the glorious riches of His perfect plan as it
bears out in your life.
Our proverbs for today of course reinforce all of this. Let’s take a
look at them now:
Plans fail for lack of
counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. Proverbs 15:22
Commit to the Lord
whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. Proverbs 16:3
In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. Proverbs 16:9
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s
purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21
Plans are established by seeking advice; so
if you wage war, obtain guidance. Proverbs 20:18
A person’s steps are directed by the Lord. How
then can anyone understand their own way? Proverbs 20:24
There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord. Proverbs 21:30
What the word of the Lord tells us in regard to planning is as follows:
1. Seek the Lord’s advice and commit to His counsel if you want success.
Plans fail for lack of
counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. Proverbs 15:22
Commit to the Lord
whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. Proverbs 16:3
Plans are established by seeking advice; so
if you wage war, obtain guidance. Proverbs 20:18
2. Always keep in mind that the Lord is the Master Planner and His will
is going to be done.
A person’s steps are directed by the Lord. How
then can anyone understand their own way? Proverbs 20:24
In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. Proverbs 16:9
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s
purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21
3. No plan that we make apart from the Lord will ever trump His plan.
There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord. Proverbs 21:30
Friends, the word of the Lord is speaking loudly to us today and we
would be well served to listen. For the only plan in life that matters is the
Lord’s plan for you and me. With this, we need to always seek Him and His way
for when we follow the Lord and the path He wishes for us to travel, when we
carry out His plans for our lives, then and only then we will ensure we are
going in the right direction and doing the right things.
That’s His desire for all of us, that we walk through life in righteousness
each and every day He grants us. That’s His plan. It needs to be ours as well.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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