Proverbs 16:3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and your plans will succeed.

Many times we make plans and then ask the Lord for His stamp of approval, but I don’t think that’s what this verse is talking about. Committing/submitting what you intend to do includes asking Him whether it’s a good idea in the first place. Sadly, God has no place in the thoughts of the majority of people most of the time. A lot of people consider “hearing from God” the stuff of fairy tales, and dismiss even the possibility that He might speak to them, telling them what they should do. Not long ago I heard a newscaster grilling someone because that person had said something about God’s guidance, and the newscaster wasn’t even an atheist! When we include God in our thinking from the start, then what we know of Him will impact our plans, whether or not we are aware of specific guidance. James talked about the issue of including God in our plans in the last part of James 4, and he concludes with a zinger: “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” (James 4:13-14) Leaving God out of our plans is the sin of presumption, of thinking somehow we don’t need Him. It is when we acknowledge our dependence on God, in our thinking and actions, that our plans stand firm, as this verse says.

I have a spotty track record in this area. It’s been many years since I’ve failed to consider God in major decisions, but I’ve made plenty of what I thought were lesser decisions without including Him in my thinking. I don’t think we should be agonizing over everything, but even such decisions as what clothes to put on should be made with a desire to please Him. There is a lady in this church of limited means, but she is always attractively and modestly dressed, and I think it’s because she asks God about it. I’ve experienced God making major changes in my plans, sometimes to my delight and sometimes to my distress, but I have far less distress when I recognize that He has the authority in the first place, and I hold my plans loosely. I still have a real tendency to get uptight about schedules, because I hate to be late. I am to be faithful and not lazy, but I am not to fear the opinion of others more than I fear God. I don’t want to be the priest or the Levite in Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan, (Luke 10:25-37) more concerned with my agenda than with helping people when God gives me the opportunity to do so.

Father, thank You for this reminder, and for the bit of a practicum You gave us in it yesterday. I never did get that nap! Help me seek, recognize, and rejoice in Your plans for me, whether they please my flesh or not, so that I may do Your will on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!