Plans, Decisions, Destinations (Proverbs 16:9)

There are so many plans made by so many people. But in reality, those plans will not come to fruition unless the Lord intends for them to.

"A man's mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure." Proverbs 16:9, Amplified

This verse is quite similar to the first verse of this chapter, "The plans of the mind and orderly thinking belong to man, but from the Lord comes the [wise] answer of the tongue." (Proverbs 16:1, Amplified) It is not uncommon the the book of Proverbs to be repetitious. In fact, repetition is one of the keys to memorization. It is the whole idea of practicing to make perfect. The more actions are completed and then repeated, the more likely one is to perform better.

Here, Solomon uses a different vernacular. He states that a man plans his way but the Lord directs and makes his steps sure (in other words, the steps of the man are founded on solid ground). Think of it like kind of a road trip. You get out a map and plan your route. But how do you know where road construction may be taking place, or an accident may occur? The truth is you do not, but your Lord does. He sees days, months even years in advance, long before you planned that trip.

Does this mean that the Lord does not want us to plan anything? Not at all. What it means is that the Lord has the best in store for us. As our minds are more in line with Him, then our plans will be more in line with His will. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way." (Psalm 37:23, NKJV) The idea is to submit to the Lord allowing for His direction because with His direction there is surety and foundation. He can be a bit like the GPS in your car with real time traffic updates directing us around traffic collisions and road construction.

Will every plan of the heart be established? Maybe. I know there were times when I made plans to transgress. As a young I planned to stay up late on a Friday night to watch late night movies on Cinemax. There were times when that worked and there were times when it did not for my father worked the swing swift and would get home late. There was one night when I shook my fist at the Lord because I was so upset with Him for interfering with my plans. The Lord had a hand in every step I took in my young Christian life, even in my adult life. He allowed for some plans to come to fruition and others to not. Why some and not others? I cannot answer that question. All I remember as a young man and as a child is that most of my decisions were sexually motivated. What I do know is this, the Lord has used all my decisions and my steps to bring me to this blog, to make me into the man that I am today. He will use this blog to take me somewhere else.

I Have plans in my heart to do certain things and go certain places but the Lord is directing my steps. He kept me from getting hired as a teacher immediately after receiving my Bachelor's. I feel the Lord wanted me to hone my perspective of Christian philosophy, discover who I am going to be as a teacher. In waiting, someone else has filled the position that I wanted, but I know my piece of the puzzle is somewhere else. I discovering who I am in the Lord makes me a more effective tool in teaching young adults. All my plans and steps have come to a place of submission to the will of the Lord. My destination will be realized when I reach the end of this particular trek.

Examples (Proverbs 12:26)

If a man were to be defined by his surroundings, then you could tell what was in his heart. The same can be said about the company he keeps.

"The [consistently] righteous man is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked causes others to go astray." Proverbs 12:26, Amplified

If you are reading the New King James version, the first half of this verse reads so very differently. "The righteous man should choose his friends carefully..." (Proverbs 12:26a, NKJV)

It does not make a difference to the message of the verse, however. In choosing his friends carefully, the righteous man is making decision about who to surround himself with. In doing so, he becomes a guide, or example, to his neighbor. It is how we live our lives as Christians that speaks the loudest. Our examples will convert faster than the best sermon, because we are that sermon in motion. If a sermon were to have a name and a face it would look like me and be named Jeffrey. People do not want to hear the Word, they want to see it in action. The world has been letting them down with broken promises for years. When expectations are constantly unmet, words become cheap. Lets make a promise through our actions, win people to Christ with our lifestyles.

The Wicked One has been leading people astray for years with his words and misdeeds. If he can lead others astray, so too can we lead others to Christ.