Our Plans Rest in His Sovereign Hands

It has been such a joy to watch my girls grow from babies to young ladies and to witness their individual personalities develop and mature. My eldest daughter loves planning and list-making. The second she sniffs wind of something to plan, she has the paper and pen ready. I chuckle to myself because I was exactly the same. I still am. I get such a kick out of planning well and making a reliable to-do list. I recognize it as a strength that can bring blessing, however, I also repent of the converse often at play in my life. The temptation to place my trust in my plans - both in the strength of my planning as well as the fulfilment of my desires.

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails”. Proverbs 19 v21

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart..”

Of course, there is no problem in planning. On the contrary, there is wisdom in planning. We steward our time and resources well, lead our churches and ministries well and love others well with careful planning. However, no matter how careful our planning is, our plans are flawed. Were it not for the fall, our hearts would be perfectly aligned with the Lord’s will. However, each and every day we so easily stray away from His purposes and will and declare our plans and purposes for our glory. We plan with various underlying motives and reasons. Selfishness, greed, envy or revenge can so easily blur our plans; even when we try to seek God’s will in the planning. Do we truly want His will or is it His stamp of approval on our plans that we are after?

In the book of James, we are reminded of the arrogance of thinking that we have total control over the events of our own lives.

"Tomorrow, I will do this or that." James 4 v13   

In reality, we do not even know what tomorrow holds. James challenges our self-reliance and our confidence in ourselves. That's not the life of dependence God calls His children to walk in. We do not know what the next hour holds, never mind tomorrow. True humility means recognising our limitations and taking a step down from our self-constructed throne of control and learning to plan with open hands and humility.

When I have ticked off my list or dreamed up the perfect rollout of a scenario in my head, I feel on top of the world. All is well with the world if I can hold tight to those plans.  In reality, I have fallen into the pit of deception that I am in control. As I have personally reflected on this scripture, I have been convicted by how easy it is to functionally live as the self-made ruler of my own life, ruling my kingdom and longing for my kingdom to come and my glory to be revealed to all. Many are the plans in the mind of Claire.

 ” … it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

This Proverb continues with a crucial “but” which is followed by good news. It causes us to stop, pause and lookup. To lift our sights off ourselves, our world and our plans and be reminded that there is someone greater than “I”, who holds all things. The One who spoke the world into being. The One who rules over all kings and kingdoms, governments, ministry, relationships, families, the evil one’s devises, churches, over you and me. He is the Sovereign Lord overall. Over my children, my marriage, my gifts, my conversations, my conflicts, my coming and going, my friendships, my evangelism, my health, my opportunities, my attempts, and my failures. Overall! Even our very best planning, dreaming, strategizing and organising is subject to God.

Amazingly, God even uses our flawed and sin-filled plans for His glory. His purposes prevail over wickedness, for His glory. We see this play out in Genesis 50 v20 where Joseph says, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” The wicked plans of Joseph’s brothers, Potiphar’s wife and others seemed like an absolute nightmare, but the Master Weaver was in control and directing every one of Joseph’s steps to fulfil His great plan for His people. 2000 years ago, Jesus hung upon a cross -the culmination of flawed plans, sinful plans, and seemingly failed plans. Devastation and confusion for some, gloating and pride for others. Above and overall, the Sovereign perfect plan of God.

 “His perfect plan from the beginning of time and His faithfulness through all generations.” Psalm 33 v11

Even when we can’t see the fulfilment of God’s promises, the fruit of our labours, restored relationships, and the growth and change in hearts we so long for, God’s plan is prevailing. His death seemed like a plan gone very wrong, an absolute tragedy. For one reason, Jesus hung upon that cross -it was God’s plan. He knew it was God’s plan because by His death He would become the final sacrifice for our sins. God’s plans are always good. And so we can humbly submit our plans to Him. He opens and shuts doors, and He works in all things for His glory and our good.

We can rest in the fact that His good purposes will prevail. The pressure for us to hold it all together or to control the outcome of our efforts in any area of life or ministry falls away and is replaced with a deep peace and rest. Even when we can’t see the good in His plans, we can trust Him, remembering there is nothing we need that we do not have and nothing we have that God hasn’t allowed us to have. When we don’t see the full picture, we remember it is not because of God’s absence or inability to “help out”, but rather our limited view of His Master Plan.

This Proverb was particularly comforting at a time of my life when the Lord called our family to move from South Africa to Hong Kong. All my plans for the future were swept away from under my feet. This scripture anchored me so that I could lift my gaze heavenward and hold to Christ. Again, during two years of Covid and life in an exceptionally restrictive country, I have been reminded of my plans and God’s plans. I have had to surrender all to Him and trust through the change and uncertainty, the disappointment, and the painful loss. This has been the Lord’s gentle reminder, once again, that even before Covid, I wasn’t actually in control.

In a world that is constantly calling us to do-do-do and go-go-go to get ahead in life, I am learning to look back and remember. As I do so, my heart overflows with deep thankfulness. I then look forward, and I trust. You see, our thoughts and plans are like a single grain of sand on the shores of the most majestic coastline. How foolish to be so focused on one tiny grain of sand! God invites us to be a part of His plan that is astoundingly beyond anything we could imagine. We can find true peace and deep joy in the knowledge of that. As we look ahead to the future, we can sit with our plans in open hands before our Father as our hearts cry out according to Matthew 6 v10 “Your kingdom come, Lord, your will be done”.

What are you waiting for? What do you dream and hope for? What are you working hard at? What keeps you up at night? What are you seeking? Do you feel God has forgotten you or His promises to you?

Friends, let’s continue to dream and plan, but in doing so, surrender all into His sovereign hands and rest in His perfect, glorious prevailing plan.