“3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans... 9 In their hearts human plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”

‭(Proverbs 16:3, 9‬ ‭NIV‬‬)

 

Every new year people make resolutions, promises, goals, and/or plans. More times than not, those resolutions aren't kept, promises are broken, goals aren't met, and plans changed. To be clear: there's nothing wrong with shifting away from the original plan. However, if you find yourself in a continuous cycle of shifting and not accomplishing anything, there's a problem!

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How do you fix the problem? How do you begin to keep resolutions and promises? How do you meet goals? The answer is simple: submit the plans to God.

 

In Proverbs 16, King Solomon shares his wisdom about human plans. He starts by saying that everyone has plans, but God judges the individual's motives. “1 To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.  2 All a person's ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord." (Proverbs 16:1-2‬ NIV) What a way to start a chapter, huh?! When planning something, like all humans do, you must ensure that the motive behind the plans are pure or else the plans won't be blessed and might not come to fruition.

 

Solomon continues the wisdom in verse 3, where he states, "commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.” (‭‭Proverbs 16:3 NIV‬‬). On top of making sure the motive behind your plans are pure, you have to commit them to God. How do you do that, though? Pray to Him and ask for guidance. "Lord, I'd like to do ____. If it's in your will, open doors for me and lead me down the path to get _____ done." Easy enough, right?

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If you ensure that your motives are pure and you've asked God for guidance, He promises to "establish their steps" in Proverbs 16:9. That's good news! Go forth and crush those purely motivated, Godly orchestrated goals!