Theme: Commit your Plans
Text: Proverbs 16:1-3
Greetings: The Lord is good and his love endures forever.
Introduction:
We have entered into this new month and this is our second Sunday. We are thinking about the Secrets of Success throughout this month. I began this month touching the secrets of Success such as submission, obedience, and respect for the authorities.
Today, we will see the secret of success is by committing our plans to God. Proverbs has 31 chapters with multifaceted things for life. I want to leave with you three suggestions from these three verses of proverbs 16.
Prepare your thoughts
Weigh your ways
Commit your plans
To start with:
1. Prepare your thoughts
Proverbs 16:1: “To man belongs the plans of the heart but from the Lord comes to the reply of the tongue”. To man belongs the plans - means the man makes his intentions, arrangements, plans, and ways for his life. People must plan and make arrangements for their life course and needs. However, the answers come from the Lord.
Since things have come from the Lord, men cannot overrule their responsibility in planning, and involving in their daily activities. No one could simply sit at ease and tell himself that God would plan for me and execute everything for me. God expects men to plan, work and toil for their lives. But the answer comes from the Lord. God never gave or placed anything like an apple at their hands.
There may be a thousand schemes and arrangements made in the heart of a man which he may earnestly wish God would bring to full effect. But it never happens in that way. “The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time”(Genesis 6:5).
So,
Think differently , stand out
Think with God
Think in the light of the word of God
Therefore, It is in his interest that God has the answer in his power. Man has to prepare his own plans in the heart but wait upon God or pray unto the Lord for the right answer. From the human heart no good can come, without Divine influence. Your heart is a good treasure if it is prepared with the word of God. Matthew 12:35 “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him”.
Men may have many schemes and projects which they may beg God to accomplish, that are not of God, but from themselves. A man may think as he pleases, and ask God as he lists to God but God will give, or not give, as he thinks proper (Clark).
Barnes: The name of Yahweh indicates to us as Giver, Guide, Ruler, or Judge, he meets us in each of our thoughts and ways. Thoughts come and go in our minds spontaneously. But true, well-ordered speech is the gift of God. John Gill: All preparations for religious service and duty, whether it be to pray unto God, or to preach in his name, are from the Lord. God gives them the willing mind, or a suitable frame for service, as well as the ability to perform it. (Psalm 10:17).
Matthew Henry: ‘The renewing grace of God alone prepares the heart for every good work. This teaches us that we are not sufficient of ourselves to think or speak anything wise and good. Ignorance, pride, and self-flattery render us partial judges respecting our conduct. Roll the burden of thy care upon God, and leave it with him, by faith and dependence on him. “How precious to me are your thoughts,God! How vast is the sum of them! (Psalm 139:17). This Proverbs 16:1, teaches us a great truth that we are not sufficient of ourselves to think or speak, anything of ourselves, that is wise and good, but all our sufficiency is of God. “For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose”(Philippians 2:13).
God works in our lives even when we're not aware of it. If we're a child of God, God is continually working in our lives. It's amazing how many times we say things that we don't realize at the time we are saying it, but actually, it's a word from the Lord. It just comes up. God prepares your heart. The preparations of the heart, they're from God (Smith). God neither sleeps nor slumbers. He works day and night for our well-being( Psalm 121:1-3).
One thing we could understand through reading of the scriptures is Men cannot express their thoughts without God’s permission and help, and their tongues are oft overruled by God to speak what was beside and above their thoughts, as he did Balaam (Numbers 23), and Caiaphas (John 11:49-51) (Jamieson ).Trust in the Lord always and lean not on your little understanding and ways. “In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths into ” (Proverbs 3:5-6). So let’s move on to second verse of this. Chapter 16:2 weigh your ways.
2. Weigh your Ways
“All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord” (Proverbs 16:2). The word way refers to conduct of a person (Psalm 1:6). Ways are referring to the laws of the Lord (Genesis 18:19). Ways refer to customs, manners and particular way of life ( Jeremiah 10:2).
Weigh your ways means “Focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses. Focus on your character, not your reputation. Focus on your blessings, not your misfortunes.”
Try to let go off your painful memories and experiences that are shaping your reality and making you unhappy on every situations, therefore, surrender to God all your plans. Come out of your ways and plans which pulled you down and keep pulling you.
Proverbs 14:12 “there is a way that seems to be good but the end is death”. Do you know yourself? Your own heart lies to you worse and more than anyone else. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). David said, “Who can understand his [own] errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults” (Psalm 19:12).
Scripture often warns that human reasoning and human desire can lead to disaster (Jeremiah 17:9). The problem is not that we cannot use reason but always wrong. It is proved that we can never have the right desires. We are easily swayed by what we desire, and to false plans, projects and end up in failures, and discouraging situations (Proverbs 1:7). Proverbs 12:15 says that the fool trusts in his plans, thinking over and above God, he weighs his experiences are clear guide more than God’s revelations but finally ends up in defeats and even deaths (Proverbs 3:5). There is a need for self-examination (2 Corinthians 13:5), and seeking advice and wisdom from godly people take you to success (Proverbs 11:14; 15:5).
Romans 1:18–32 unfolds the sad story of the heathen's rejection of natural revelation, the manifestation of God through nature. Romans 1:18 says God's wrath "is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth." The rest of the chapter tells where the heathen's rejection of God's revelation led them to destruction and death. Although men preferred their way to God's way, their choice led to futile, debased thinking; idolatry; physical debauchery; all kinds of unrighteousness; evil; covetousness; malice; hatred of God; insolence; arrogance; murder; strife; deceit; maliciousness; gossip; bragging; rebellion; foolishness; faithlessness; and ruthlessness.
Sin can seem so plausible to the man or woman who wishes to rationalize his or her actions and evade the truth of the actual motives. Not only can we fool ourselves into sin, but we can elicit support from other sinners as “wise counsel.” The ways of carelessness, of worldliness, and sensuality, seem right to those that walk in them; but self-deceivers prove self-destroyers (Matthew Henry). There are some evil actions or courses which men may think to be lawful and good, either through gross ignorance, or self-flattery or through want of necessary diligence in examining them by the rule of God’s word (Benson).
Why we live in failure and defats? By default we yield to our thoughts and experiences with blind expectations. We are unwilling to weigh our ways, our results and methods. Bible has plenty of lessons of those who never weighed properly their ways and ended up in death.
The ways of Sodom and Gomora were rightful ways to them as long as they toppled by fire from heaven (Genesis 18 -19). The ways of the 12 spies seemed to be good for them. They spoiled the assembly and led them to forty years of wilderness journey. They walked for forty days and enjoyed the promises of God but never allowed Israelite to enter the holy land(Numbers 13). The way of the Achan seemed to be good for him to steal, hide and cheat god’s people (Joshua 7). The ways of the Balaam seem to be good for him (Numbers 23-24). The ways of the Gehazi, servant of Elisha were good to him but ended up in leprosy (2 Kings 5:23-27). The way of Judas Iscariot was good to him(Mathew 27). But all of them had their end at sickness, death, and shameful acts.
Conscience needs to be influenced by God's Word and ruled by God's will to make it a safe guide. When properly regulated, it can pronounce a verdict upon contemplated action, and its verdict must always be obeyed to the word of God. The way that seemed at the moment right, the end thereof are the ways of death (Proverbs 5:5). All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with Whom you have to do, including the thoughts and intents of your heart (Hebrews 4:12-13). Every scribe taught by the word will bring new things from his heart to please God. ( Matthew 13:52). So commit your plans to the Lord and he will make you to succeed.
3. Commit your Plans
The third verse in this chapter 16:3 “Put God in charge of your work, then what you’ve planned will take place”(MSG). “Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed”.(AMPB).
The verb commits in Hebrew means “to roll.” The idea is that we completely give something over to God in dependence upon Him. If we completely depend upon God in our work, He will “establish” our plans. That is, He will “bring about” or “cause to happen” our plans.
Psalm 1 calls to prosper by committing lives to Christ. The double meaning here is that God will put the right plans, the ones according to his will, into your heart. His plans will become your plans. And then he will make those plans succeed. Commit your actions, works, plans, ways, and thoughts to the Lord. He will establish it.
Cast all care upon him and his providence for supply, support, and sustenance in life; and commit the business of the salvation of thy soul, and the important affairs of it, wholly to him, who is able, willing, and faithful, to keep what is committed to him; and, having so done, may sit down easy and satisfied, as one that is rid of a burden by casting it on another, better able to bear it, or more equal to the work committed to him.
The Targum: "reveal thy works to God", The Syriac and Vulgate Latin versions: "reveal thy works to the Lord". Reveal thy case, condition, and circumstances; thy wants and necessities; seek and ask for a supply of him, make known thy requests to him; for though he is not ignorant of the affairs of his people, yet he will be sought unto to do the things for them he intends to do, and they need, and thy thoughts shall be established.
when a man has, by faith and in prayer, committed himself, his case, his ways, and works, to the Lord, his mind is made easy, his thoughts are composed and settled, and he quietly waits for the issues of things. This makes him calm, sedate, and easy; and he is in a fair way of having his designsn, desires, and endeavors accomplished (Psalms 37:5). The best example is Hanna, after prayers she never was sad and had great trust that God would heard her prayers ( 1 Samuel 1:18).
Bridgeway: A person may make plans, but God is the one who determines their outcome. He knows the person’s unseen motives and controls events according to his purposes. It is important, therefore, always to bring God into one’s planning.
- Commit your plans to the Lord because your plans are limited and short. God has better plans and long and lasting plans (Jeremiah 29:11).
- The man plans his ways but God establishes the plans (Proverbs 16:9).
- May he grant your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans (Psalm 20:4).
- Without counsel, plans fail but with numerous advisers, they succeed (Proverbs 15:22).
- Your thoughts are not my thoughts. My ways are higher than your ways and thoughts, says the Lord! (Isaiah 55:8-9).
- Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand (Proverbs 19:21).
- I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go (Psalm 32:8).
Conclusion:
Prepare your thoughts but surrender to God, weigh your ways in the light of the word of God, and commit your plans for him to establish.
