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Msg #580 Wed, October 28, 2009
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A man’s heart plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)
Question for you: Are you in step with God’s plan for your life? For most who read this, it is exactly at this issue that you are struggling with. Knowing God’s will, knowing what God has for you, seeking guidance and more.
To me this simple Proverb highlights a large part of our confusion and problem. May God meet you this day in showing You His ways.
God’s ways and men’s ways are very different…that is an understatement! In the Proverb above, the first phrase is placed in contrast to the second. The way men want things done is contrasted with the way God does things. People plan ways but in contrast God directs steps.
We like plans. As a whole, mankind, likes to “play god” with our lives. We want to have it all figured out. We want to know where we are, where we are going, when we will get there and much more. A lot of time is spent making plans – plans for the near and distant future. In our heart, we often seek to have, know and understand “the plan” of what we are doing and where we are going.
God directs steps. Here the contrast comes boldly before us. God does not give us plans – He directs steps. Instead of giving us a map that includes what the next weeks, months and years look like, God is seeking to guide our lives daily, step by step. He is pointing and directing things in our life right now, today, that will affect our future, but He does not give us a clear understanding of that… only what He has for us to do in the next step.
Now, don’t misunderstand – direction and plans are different. God often shows us direction in our lives – a picture of where He wants to take us. He shows David he is going to be a King, Israel that they are going to the Promised Land and Paul that he will go to the Gentiles. God will often do the same in our lives – showing us callings He has on our lives and more. Yet, practically in each of those mentioned above – the overall direction was not the plan. Daily, God directed their steps, never giving them the plan on how they would get to where He was taking them. God directs steps.
I wonder where this finds you today. I know that many are struggling right here. Can I give you just a couple random applications to this:
Failed plans are most often our failed plans – not God’s. We like to think we know where life is going and how things are going to work out…and often…we are wrong. Sometimes this creates a crises because we feel that “God’s plan” for our life just failed…but it did not. What failed is our assumption that we understood the plan, when God was directing steps.
Most struggles over God’s will are about plans…not steps. Many Christians are desperately struggling over God’s will in their life. Yet, the real problem is that what we want to know “the plan”. If you are struggling over God’s will, I wonder if you are really wrestling over what He has you to do today…or with wanting to understand the future? Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow, it has enough trouble of its own (Mat 6:34). God tells us in James not to even boast about tomorrow, because none of us really know what tomorrow holds (James 4:13). Instead of worrying and focusing on tomorrow , God would have us be focused on following Him today. Those who struggle the most over God’s will are rarely are confused over what God has for them to do today, because God is faithfully directing steps.
One difficult part of this is explaining to others what we are doing. If you are seeking to follow God’s directing of your steps, then you know that you will be asked “where you are going”, or “what is going to happen next”. The problem is….honestly we don’t know. But we think we ought to know…so we guess or become more confused. Yet, an honest answer is “I don’t know”, because you and I don’t. What we should know…is what the next step is, that is what God promises to show us – beyond that…well, that is in His plans not ours. We have the joy of simply seeking to follow His steps…today.
Today leave the plans with God… and follow His steps.
A man’s heart plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)
A man’s steps are of the Lord;
How then can a man understand his own way? (Proverbs 20:24)
Jim
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