Whose Plan Is It?
You have a great idea for a new product at work. It will make the company more profitable. You have an exciting idea for your history class project. There are many reliable resources and you have tremendous interest in the subject matter. You and two friends plan to stay out until midnight, which is two hours past your curfew, it is Friday night, and there’s no school tomorrow. All these sound like wonderful plans, but often we are not the final say in our plans. You need to present a sales pitch to the divisional manager for approval of your new product idea. You need your teacher’s buy-in for your project. You must ask your parents for permission to stay out past curfew.
Sometimes we ask others for their approval or opinion of our plan while other times we simply want them to give us their stamp of approval. Generally speaking, we are not fond of other people telling us their plans for our lives. When it comes to following God we sometimes fall into that same trap. We tend to tell God our plans rather than ask Him for His good and perfect plan. Today I want to look at Proverbs 16:9, using four different translations simply for comparative purposes.
“The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” (ESV)
“The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.” (NASB)
“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” (NIV)
“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” (NLT)
Have you ever wondered what that verse really means? In my opinion, this verse reminds us of the sovereignty of God; that God is in control. To better understand the passage, let’s look at the two key verbs – plans and determines. The Hebrew word used in the passage for plan is “Hasib,” which means “to think or reckon.” Contrast that with the Hebrew word “Kun” used here for determine, which means “to be firm, to set in place, be established, steadfast, faithful, reliable, or certain.”
The contrast is between what is planned and what actually happens; this verse tells us that while we “plan,” it is God who “establishes, directs, determines.” And in Ephesians 3:20 we read this, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”
So, it really boils down to one simple question… Are you asking God to tell you His plans and allowing Him to guide your steps OR are you simply asking God to bless your plans?
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