Proverbs 21:30-22:1 HIS Plans

Solomon reminds us in NO uncertain words that God’s plan is what prevails. Doing all we can to stand, stand in the knowledge that it is HIS plan that endures.

These are the last three verses of this ‘bookend’ set that started in in verse 20 of this chapter. That is what my bible helps says anyway. I’m not as ‘quick’ as they are because I can’t see the ‘bookends’ as “matching” beyond being parables of Solomon. Both ends speak of wisdom and warfare. They also both speak of pursuing righteousness above all else. I guess the scholars who sat down and divided up the chapters and smaller groups know more than I do in these matters. I’ll leave it at that and plunge into what the Spirit has for us today on these verses.

When I read verse 30 the first time, what came to mind is this: “No wisdom, NO God. KNOW wisdom, KNOW God.” Thinking about it as I see it written now, I think they need to be reversed. “NO God, NO wisdom. KNOW God, KNOW wisdom.” Even that needs at least one qualifier. That qualifier is which God. WE know who we are talking about, or we wouldn’t be visiting a site that is dedicated to getting to KNOW Him better. The God who created the universe, the God who shaped man with His own hands, the God who had a plan of redemption from the beginning, and the God who has a plan that is STILL to come. THAT God and NO other is the giver of wisdom. Not Buda, not Confucius, not Mohamad, not _______ (insert ANY name of ANY other god here) has the power to do what our Lord of All Creation has done. NONE hold the wisdom He does AND shares it with His children.

Consult all the oracles, wise men, soothsayers, prophets, or leaders you want. The sum of their wisdom and counsel will NEVER compare to the wisdom of God. THEIR plans will fail. Their words will be found false. What God plans ALWAYS happens. There is NOTHING in Heaven or Earth or in the bowels of Hell that can stop the plans of God. From the MOMENT He first spoke, “Let there be…” until the final person is judged from His throne, HE IS IN CONTROL.

He confounds the plans of man. He makes armies rise where they should have been trampled under. NO might of man can stand against His plans and purposes. If in doubt, read the story of Sampson. ONE man against the mighty armies stood victorious. NOT because he was ‘holy’ but because God made a promise and He would NOT break it. The moment Sampson revealed his secret the covenant was broken. Sampson had allowed his enemies to remove the very thing that bound God to His word. BUT when that simple thing was restored, so was Sampson’s strength. One last time, Sampson called upon the name of his God and he was remembered.

God can do AMAZING things with our lives too; when we let Him. I’m NOT saying that we can somehow stop God’s plans by some act or inaction we do. I’m saying that He has individual plans for each of our lives and we have the choice to resist His plans or to walk in them. Sometimes it gets MIGHTY uncomfortable when we resist His plans but that doesn’t mean He has removed our free will. We are simply reaping the consequences of our actions when we stray from the path He prepared for us.

The plans He has for me are surely different from the plans He has for you but neither is ANY LESS precious and special. He raises up and praises the janitor who cleans the bathroom as surely as He raises up the most powerful preacher.

Walking in the plan He laid out for you, whether it is a lowly servant or a humble leader, is better than ANYTHING we could come up with on our own. Following Him in righteousness is better than ANY honor man could offer and lasts longer than the mountains themselves. Choose His path and He will make your path one of beauty; one that glorifies His name.

Father God, thank You for Your plans for my life. Thank You that ALL Your promises are TRUE. I may not understand them all but I trust them because I trust You. There is NO WHERE I can go that You can’t reach. I want to surrender my WHOLE life to You but when I wander off course, I trust You to bring me back, no matter how far that journey is.