Proverbs 16:9 “A man’s heart deviseth his way; but the Lord directeth his steps.”
Solomon tells us that man may make plans, but God has the final say. In other words, man devises-God directs, man proposes-God disposes. We’ve all heard about the best laid plans that go astray and we’ve all experienced the disappointment of having our plans thwarted. Hurricane Ike is a good example of this. Regardless of their plans and best efforts, everyone in Ike’s path was affected in some way. For some the effect was minimal, for others it was devasting. With some it was a matter of inconvenience. Others suffered terrible loss. We were all made aware of the fact that there are some things we can’t control or change.
When you stop and think about it, man is not nearly as powerful as he thinks. We can dream and we can plan, but it is not always in our power to make things turn out as we desire. We need to realize, like it or not, we are dependent upon God. Just as the Ethiopian cannot “change his skin, or the leopard his spots”(Jer. 13:23) there are some things beyond our control. Instead of getting bitter and complaining we need to accept what God allows and move on, doing the best we can with what we’ve got.
There’s nothing wrong with planning (Prov. 6:6-8), but we should never forget that God is in control. Although He works in ways we cannot understand, we know that He makes no mistakes. Everything happens for a reason and we must trust Him. The following says it well:
“When fear and worry test your faith
And anxious thoughts assail,
Remember God is in control
And He will never fail.”
