Christian Living

Our plan and God's design

by jay supetran
01/15/18
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Proverbs 16:9 - In their hearts humans plan their course but the LORD establishes their steps.

 Our organization just completed the annual planning and one realization stuck to my mind. Even if we plan for a year, things do not go the way we planned it. Change keep on coming and by the middle of the year the plan is already irrelevant. This is also true to people’s lives. We plan and lay down the desires of our heart, but in most cases, we end up in a situation far from what we have planned. It is like the resolutions written during New Year’s eve and forgotten on the first day of January.  Management tools proliferate to help business people plan and ensure their enterprises are in top shape and generating the profits they expect. Just the same, disruptions and changes in the environment happen that upset the best laid plans.

 If things end up outside our plans most of the time, the question is, will we just allow things to happen as ‘destiny’ drift to its supposed course? For some, this is the best way, hope for luck that the course will be according to the plan. Or do everything legal and illegal, moral and immoral to make sure things work out according to plan. For God’s people, luck should not be part of our mind-set, nor the stressful exertions. Instead,   our plan should be aligned to God’s perfect plan for us. Yes God the perfect plan for us, better than what we have planned for our lives.

 If our plan is not aligned, we encounter hardships as God is trying to call our attention to unpleasant things that will happen as a result of our wrong choice. Proverbs 16:9 states, “In their hearts humans plan their course but the LORD establishes their steps”. We may ask why is that so? It is because God, our father knows what is best for us. Proverbs 16: 25 cautioned, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. We want to have the best in life, but the best in life may not be good for us. Our choice may change our perspectives of life and our devotion to God. It may turn us away from the Lord. So when we face difficulties and when things do not seem aligned with our plans, we should stop and reflect as God may be talking to us. It is better to change direction in the middle of the journey and end up in a better place than pursue and eventually end up in the wrong place.

 How can we be sure that our plan is right in the eyes of God? The answer is found in Proverbs 16:3, “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans”. Follow God’s leading even if it is way off your dreams, because eventually, it will be for your own good. You will be surprised with what God has in store for you.