Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established (Proverbs 16:3).
I read this verse and think — for just a moment — that if I say I am going to do "such and such" in God’s name, then He will affirm my plans and make everything turn out as I would like.
In fact, I’m pretty sure this is one of the verses false preachers like to use in favor of the idea that God just wants us to be happy.
But such a facile interpretation is not in keeping with what we know about the Lord or about real life. We have to put all Scripture into context.
Whose Plans Will Be Established?
The King James Version puts it this way: “Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.” Tell the Lord that your ways are devoted to His purposes, and He will direct your thoughts. He will give you His plans.
It’s like Psalm 37:4, which says, “Delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
He will tell your heart what to long for when you long for the Lord, when you take such great joy in following God that all you want to give Him your whole self because you love Him so much.
God Almighty has always sought our obedience. Think of Gideon with his tiny army and jars of clay filled with candles.
Gideon’s plan was to try and tough it out in spite of being outnumbered by his enemy. The Lord’s command was for His servant to show the might of His Sovereign rather than the power of mere muscle.
Gideon’s trust and faith were inspiring. I want to be as trusting and to have as much faith. If I want the Lord’s thoughts to be my thoughts, then I have to wait and hear them, although I like to hope that his refinement process is lining things up more and more.
Maybe when I forget to ask God what I should do next, my choices flow out of a heart that is tuned to Him. But it doesn’t always work that way. I catch myself frequently getting ahead of God. It’s only by His grace that I don’t run into traffic, figuratively speaking.
Wait for Me
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him(Psalm 37:7).
If you’re a parent or you have ever babysat a young child, you know what it’s like to watch a little one run ahead of you, all excited by the sight of a ride, balloons, or a teddy bear. But there are dangers, like crowds or traffic.
You cry out, “Wait for me!” The child’s objective isn’t terrible, but he can only see a little way in front of him. The full picture is simply too wide, too big for him to see or to understand.
A child is easily overcome by distractions and attractions to momentarily forget that he is supposed to ask his parents, “May I go there, please?”
All it takes is to forget for a moment, and he could become lost or injured, but if mom and dad can make their voices heard above the noises or above the child’s own thoughts, he will stop and return to them (we hope).
We are small, too, when it comes to the big picture. God sees hazards that affect us or which cause problems to someone else.
We barely notice all the things we do and say, but they impact others in big and small ways while we move on to the next thing.
Or we can be like a little child swallowed up by situations and people who might hurt us if we don’t wait on the Lord’s direction if we ignore His voice.
What if we take the wrong trail because we have already ignored or forgotten the Lord? Search and Rescue experts tell us that if we are ever lost in the woods, we should stay put.
Do what we can to let someone know where we are, like calling on our cell phone, lighting flares, or making noise. Then wait. That’s what God is asking us to do, also. Wait for His direction. Wait for His “yes” or his “no” or His “hold on, the timing is wrong.”
If it feels like you’re lost or overwhelmed right now, send up a flare. Cry. Do something to say, “I’m lost. I need you, God!” He sees you. He will meet you there and guide you out.
Maybe you went ahead of God and got yourself in trouble. He’s not standing there singing maliciously, “told you so!” He wants to help you get back on His path.
A Holy Trail Network
This Christmas, I decided to go on holiday alone. That means hiking because I am an avid hiker. I love the outdoors and the solitude of a hiking trail (just not too isolated and not too deep in the woods).
My goal was to spend a lot of time with the Lord, just praying and talking and listening. I’m not sure how much time I spent asking God about this trip. Would the Father mind if I fled from the usual kind of Christmas?
I stayed in a motel central to several hiking routes. I chose to challenge myself with a hard trail on Christmas Day and was rewarded with one of the best hikes of the year, featuring incredible views.
I thanked God for allowing me to fulfill my goal and my longing. Here was His answer: “Submit your plans and your dreams to me.”
Say what? Oh yeah. I had kind of planned my Christmas without really consulting God. What I wanted was good — exercise, fresh air, solitude, communion with Jesus.
I wanted time to pray; I wanted time to hear. I wanted time to rest. And the Lord, in His kindness, gave me all of those things. He gave me the “okay,” but he didn’t have to. That was his kindness.
He asked me to name all that I desire for the future and to hold it out in my open hands, to give it up, and then to let Him decide whether to give it back, or parts which parts, or something entirely different.
My life is in His hands. He might say “yes,” but if he doesn’t, then I need to hear Him. I agreed to follow Him and to surrender, but I also asked for help. The other day, I saw a dad call his son out of the road after he’d crossed without looking. Thank You, God, for being that kind of Father!
His Plans Are Established
There were a lot of ideas rolling around in my head during that hike; I was trying to plan for the distant future. I’m trying to pull back and think about today.
Not that I’ll abandon responsibilities like paying rent and insurance, but when it comes to my personal desires, I’m trying to say, “Here is today, Lord, what is Your will?”
No doubt, I’ll keep having trouble with surrender, but I know He will never lead me over a cliff and that He will help me to obey since I asked Him for help.
He might let me see the ledge or get buffeted by the wind a little. But God is never going to lead me down a path that does not glorify Him or where I cannot see Jesus. Here is my prayer:
Father, help us get behind You, put Your Son first in our hearts, and run all of our decisions by You. What is your will? We can’t just go with our feelings because those often change from breakfast to bedtime. And we don’t need to trust something so flimsy: we have the Holy Spirit. May your voice, through that Spirit in us, be louder than our own imaginations. Amen.
For further reading:
5 Reasons to Believe in the Dreams for Your Life
How Do Your Desires Fit with God's Will?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Xanya69
