Hi there! I hope everyone has been having a good week so far! Today we'll be studying in Proverbs 16, specifically the first passage of it. The Lord gives us great wisdom in this passage, and I'll be breaking it down verse by verse for you. If you're new here, thank you for visiting! I hope that you enjoy this study today. If you would like to learn more about Jesus and read more, scroll to the bottom of the page for information on that!
Proverbs 16: 1-5
"Go ahead and make all the plans you want, but it's the Lord who will ultimately direct your steps. We are in love with our own opinions, convinced they're correct. But the Lord is in the midst of us, testing and probing our every motive. Before you do anything, put your trust totally in God and not in yourself. Then every plan you make will succeed. The Lord works everything together to accomplish his purpose. Even the wicked are included in his plans- he sets them aside for the day of disaster. Yahweh detests all the proud of heart, for pride attracts his punishment-and you can count on that!"
- Proverbs 16:1-5 TPT
This passage altogether describes the Lord's provision and guidance over our lives. Throughout the Bible, we can clearly see that the Lord doesn't require us to do everything on our own. He wants to guide us, and he has a purpose for each and every one of our lives. Your life is special, and God has a plan for you!
A lot of times, we plan things for our lives that are ultimately the wrong decisions, and the Lord sees all of our days. He knows our past, present, and future, and he knows the best way to guide all of us.
"Go ahead and make all the plans you want, but it's the Lord who will ultimately direct your steps." (vv.1)
The first verse in the chapter starts off with showing us where we should look for our plans. Although we can technically make our plans, the Lord has a plan for us already and knows where our footsteps should be. Isn't that amazing?
God cares about our whereabouts and plans, and not out of a superiority complex or because he wants to tell everyone what to do. He watches out for his children and knows the plans that he has for us! His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and his ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9).
What plans are you trying to form without the Lord? Plans that we don't bring to God and try to establish without him will always fail. If you choose your career, but the Lord's plan isn't in it, he will direct your steps back to his calling on your life. Rest assured knowing that you don't have to have it all figured out because God does. Something that's hard for me to do is to only walk in today, not worrying about the future, but this is what God wants us to do. We can walk without fear of a lack of provision, guidance, and love from the Lord because He is that good.
"We are in love with our own opinions, convinced they're correct. But the Lord is in the midst of us, testing and probing our every motive." (vv.2)
We are in love with our opinions, but should we be? After all, as imperfect and selfish humans by nature, we are never going to always be right. This is one of the reasons why God wants us to humble ourselves- we have to realize that it's God that's always right, not us.
We should look to the Lord for his opinion before our own opinions form.
Our feelings can get in the way of bringing our opinions to God out of selfishness and sin, but rest in the fact that God is the one that will always be right. We have unlimited wisdom and strength in our God.
The Lord tests and probes our every motive, or in other words, he establishes the quality and reliability of our every motive. He examines with his hands our motives and plans; he uncovers the information of our plans.
He doesn't do this haughtily. He actually dislikes haughtiness (Psalm 18:27), so why would he act haughty? The Lord works in righteous love. A lot of people say that the Lord is a gentleman; he will not act rude or arrogant towards his children and/or boss them around in a condescending manner.
If you're wondering why God wants you to do something that you might not want to do, remember that he knows you, he loves you, and he knows your future. You might not know what the next day holds, but he does.
"Before you do anything, put your trust totally in God and not in yourself. Then every plan you make will succeed." (vv.3)
Every plan we make with God will succeed, even if it doesn't seem like it right away. When God called Noah to build the ark, guess how long he waited for rain? 120 years! Sometimes, we can't see evidence visually before us as to why God is taking us somewhere or leading us to do something, but we can trust him because he knows what will happen and his plans always succeed. They never fail.
I think it is so sweet that God takes care of our every day and plan, and he wants what is best for us. He's so servant-hearted for this! As long as we remember how good and loving he is, that he desires to plan good things for his children, and that he has a purpose for us all, we can trust him to guide our footsteps for our future.
If you're going somewhere with a friend and you don't know the way, but they know every step there, are you going to trust that they will take you there? In the same way we trust people's word for guidance and advice, we should trust God even more than that for our futures.
"The Lord works everything together to accomplish his purpose. Even the wicked are included in his plans- he sets them aside for the day of disaster." (vv.4)
God knows what he is doing in each and everyone's life today. He sees our futures, and already has plans for the days we cannot see on the horizon. Look back on your life and remember when the Lord worked in your life and protected you.
Now, today, think about how as you're reading this now, God already planned out this day before you faced those days in the past. Isn't that cool? When you were younger, he already knew about the plans he wanted you to take today, this week, this month, and every other day for the rest of your life.
Not only does he plan good things for his family, but he will also take care of the wicked people that have rejected him. We don't have to make any plans for taking revenge on the wicked people because God has this under control as well.
"Yahweh detests all the proud of heart, for pride attracts his punishment- and you can count on that!" (vv.5)
God dislikes proudness intensely. He knows that we are flawed human beings by sin and that we are his creations- we cannot surpass God, and we shouldn't wish to surpass others. It is by his love and sacrifice of his one and only son that we can be forgiven and have eternal life and learn to be humble like him.
We don't have to act like we have our whole life together today. The world worships status, ego, and image, but we shouldn't conform to the world's pleasures. Today, know that you don't have to know everything about your life. You don't have to strive to look or be the best. You can trust in the Lord and humble yourself before him knowing that he works all things for your good and he knows the plans for your life.
Reflection
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." -Isaiah 55:9
"For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down." -Psalm 18:27
"I am the vine, and my father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you." -John 15:1-3
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." -Proverbs 3:5
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