"Many plans are in a man's heart, but the counsel of the Lord will stand"
Solomon is trying to give us a perspective on why certain things are not possible in our lives. Why no matter what we may want, certain pathways are not open to us. God has closed those roads to us.
Now, life is a gift from God and we have been given by Him the opportunity to make all kinds of choices, but we have not been given the right to make all the choices. God will not allow you to do some things. He allows you to be foolish in some ways. He allows you to be wicked in some directions. He allows you to be righteous. He allows you to be successful in some directions. But you must understand that while life is all about the choices you make, there are some choices that are just not available to you. They may be available to someone else. There is a God who has an overall sovereign plan, and He is following that storyline no matter what. Nothing is allowed to interfere with His storyline. There are maximum amounts of choices in this universe, but there are some choices that are not permitted – either because they would interfere with His storyline or because they would destroy some crucial aspect of your storyline. Remember, God gives the maximum possible choices but freedom of choice is not absolute. There are some choices that He will not allow.
Sometimes you run into these invisible walls. He will not let you move in that direction. He will not let you go there. He will not let you become that. You can make all the plans that you want, but He will not allow it. And it would be very wise for you to come to grips with who is the Sovereign God and that it is not you.
Sometimes you will make righteous plans that just cannot be accomplished. Realize that it may be God saying, “I know that you made plans, but I have different plans for you. Do not be depressed; rejoice that I have a plan for your life.” Keep your options open and move in a new direction.
A person should make plans, but they should realize that God may not allow all of those plans to work. This idea is where James in the New Testament says we should say, “As the Lord wills.”
I can remember that when I graduated from college I wanted to go to a particular seminary. So I made an application and filled out all the forms. I was accepted and I prepared to go, but it was impossible to get there. It became clear that I would not be able to go to that school for my training. That particular school was blocked. But the school I did not want to go to was open. And when I made the application to the school I did not want to go to, I was accepted and the way opened up. I had come against the sovereignty of God. What I had planned and wanted was not going to be permitted. God was blocking me from my plan.
God had a different plan for me than I had for myself. I was forced to embrace His plan. When I submitted to His will and went with His plan, it became clear that He loved me and wanted my best. I do not know why I was not allowed to go to the other school, but I was not. There will be things like this in your life where you will make plans and there is nothing wrong with what you want to do, but God will block you from executing that plan. You have to stay flexible and realize that He is in charge and you are not.
Until tomorrow,
Gil Stieglitz