Proverbs 19:21 AMPC
[21] Many plans are in a man's mind, but it is the Lord's purpose for him that will stand.
We live in a complex world, and it is only right and proper to try and understand where you fit in, and do your best in the place you have been planted. One way to give your best in any situation is to understand what that particular situation demands from you, and the appropriate reaction or response that is the right supply for that demand. Not all actions are appropriate for the times we are in. We have all heard the popular expression: "Doing the right thing at the right time and in the right way". I believe this is where the word 'plan' comes from, and two online definitions are: 'a detailed proposal for doing or achieving something', and 'an intention or decision about what one is going to do'. As you see from the definitions above, there is an end goal or a defined achievement in view, and then there are appropriate actions that are required in order to ensure that the goal is achieved.
It is not something that stays in the region of assumptions and presumptions; you do not fold your arms and somehow expect things to magically work out. You put the work into it to ensure that the action fits the plan, and then you get to work. That is the way of the world, and I am now faced with the question of what is the right thing to do per time, because at all times, the mind is working, just as it was formed by God to do. Man was made in God's image and likeness, and it is only normal for him to want to be like God in strategic and long-term planning. A man can make reasonable short, medium or long-term plans, but the caveat has always been the plan of God for that man. This is where plan meets reality, and God's purpose trumps any other plan that I may have. It is great to map out ways and strategies of doing things, but it is also appropriate to note that there is a power at work that must be consulted, if the plan will actually lead to the expected outcome.
That power is God. He is the Master of the Universe, and the controller of all things. All that has been made answers to Him, and they work to ensure His will is done at all times. This is a God who has been God long before the world as we see it today was formed, and who will still remain God long after this present world has ceased to exist. How can anyone dare make a sensible plan without His input or approval? I am also careful to note that the fact that a plan succeeds does not automatically mean that God approves it. The plan may succeed because there is a bigger plan by God in place, and my actions or inactions are fundamental to the achievement of God's purpose. This is where the latter part of the verse above is critical: God's purpose is His ultimate power. He cannot be thwarted or defeated, and He does not need my approval to be God. Thank God I serve a God whose power cannot be defeated. When He backs me up, success is assured. God's time of favour is here.
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