Proverbs 16:1
“The plans of the mind and orderly thinking belong to man, but from the Lord comes the [wise] answer of the tongue.”
Thinking and reasoning widely, far, and extensively is one attribute that qualifies a man whom God has made and who still lives in his right senses. And with the way God has created humans, it is a spontaneous action for man to have plans and think in ways that picture tomorrow, and there is nothing wrong with this. It delights God when a man thinks right and does right, but what displeases Him is when the thinking and the planning take him out of the will of God. There is the freewill created with humans, which gives us the freedom and ability to choose and make a decision on what we’ll do and what we’ll not do. A Christian, therefore, doesn’t just live to bring his plans to pass, but he lives to fulfil God’s purposes on earth.
The Message Bible renders Proverbs 16:1 more simply for better understanding: “Mortals make elaborate plans, but GOD has the last word.” The heart of a man is a place with the ability to contain lots of thoughts and also make elaborate plans. In short, the heart of a man can be likened to a thought and plan factory, but a man who has been reborn into the nature of God allows that God is the final answer to all his thoughts and plans. God makes all things happen in His own appointed time, and thus, you shouldn’t force anything to happen if God doesn’t want it. Many have entered into unnecessary trouble and error by ignoring what God is saying or has said concerning them, just because they felt they had a better option in mind to go for. There cannot be any better option than the one God gives.
No matter how wide and elaborate your plans can be, it is God who has the final word and the wise response. Allow God in your thinking and planning. Stop wasting your time planning and thinking about doing what God is not bringing ease to for you to do. When you understand that God is the all in all, you will stop fidgeting when your proposed plans are not working out as planned. Leave it all to Him and see Him transform, change, and bring to pass that which He has planned for you. Seek His thoughts and plans and work according to them, and then you will find rest for your soul.
Confession: I take rest in the Lord, knowing that His plans for me are the best that can ever be.
Thank you for reading The Disciple’s Devotion today. For more resources to strengthen your spiritual walk, please check out our available free sermons (https://lightbearersglobal.org/sermons) and free Christian books (https://lightbearersglobal.org/free-books/) to nourish and strengthen your faith.
