"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. What is desired in a man is steadfast love, and a poor man is better than a lier. The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm." Proverbs 19:21-23
"Many are the plans in the mind of a man".... Right now Kevin and I are facing many possible roads for the future. With graduation coming up for me, it has seemed that it is time for me to make my plans to fulfill what I have been dreaming would happen since I first started even my undergraduate experience. We would both get a job, have a nice home, loans would be easy peasy to pay off, a family would start, two cars (that both have working handles) and life would be great. To make this dream happen, I had a certain way that our life would play out, a certain timeline, a certain order.
Yet...
God doesn't work that way.
"...it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand." While I may have had all those plans, it's not exactly lining up the way I had originally wanted to. But I'm glad. Those plans I see where superficial. They didn't include God's purpose. I say I want my life to be of servace to God, but yet still don't want to surrender it to Him. I'm learning that by surrendering all my plans to Him, his plans do get carried out, and I don't have to worry.
"What is desired in a man is steadfast love..." What God ultimately desires is not our plans, but a relationship of love with him. hesed is the Hebrew word for steadfast love in this verse. It is a love that is based on a prior relationship, especially a covenant relationship. When this relationship comes first everything else lines up.
"The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied..." A friend of mine described it as "freedom". Freedom knowing that God's plans will come to happen if we just day by day make it a point to ask that our will be be molded to His will. True life is only occurs when God is first in a relationship of steadfast love.
"Many are the plans in the mind of a man".... Right now Kevin and I are facing many possible roads for the future. With graduation coming up for me, it has seemed that it is time for me to make my plans to fulfill what I have been dreaming would happen since I first started even my undergraduate experience. We would both get a job, have a nice home, loans would be easy peasy to pay off, a family would start, two cars (that both have working handles) and life would be great. To make this dream happen, I had a certain way that our life would play out, a certain timeline, a certain order.
Yet...
God doesn't work that way.
"...it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand." While I may have had all those plans, it's not exactly lining up the way I had originally wanted to. But I'm glad. Those plans I see where superficial. They didn't include God's purpose. I say I want my life to be of servace to God, but yet still don't want to surrender it to Him. I'm learning that by surrendering all my plans to Him, his plans do get carried out, and I don't have to worry.
"What is desired in a man is steadfast love..." What God ultimately desires is not our plans, but a relationship of love with him. hesed is the Hebrew word for steadfast love in this verse. It is a love that is based on a prior relationship, especially a covenant relationship. When this relationship comes first everything else lines up.
"The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied..." A friend of mine described it as "freedom". Freedom knowing that God's plans will come to happen if we just day by day make it a point to ask that our will be be molded to His will. True life is only occurs when God is first in a relationship of steadfast love.
