April 15 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

What are your plans for today? We all have plans, thoughts, desires, hopes and dreams. Proverbs says, “There are many plans in a man’s heart”. If you give that further thought you soon discover the truth of these words. We spend an incredible amount of time planning and scheduling!

We have been created by the Lord with the ability to make plans. As a result of the fall into sin our plans are not always good. In fact, if God left us to our own devices all our plans would be according to the imagination and inclination of our sinful hearts (Gen 8:21). Our daily plans are to promote the well-being of the family and church of Christ; they are to reflect that we are in a relationship with the Lord.

Proper planning makes prayer indispensable. When our planning is steeped in prayer it will give us clarity of mind and confidence to move forward. Furthermore, good planning should involve the counsel of others. Proverbs 11:14 says, “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” As we set out to make plans for the future, we will benefit from the input and advice of people who have our best interests at heart.

Throughout our life we do our share of brainstorming to come up with plans of action, but that is not the end of the matter. The rest of the story is: “but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” (NIV) That calls for humility. On the one hand, we are not robots or puppets on a string. God expects us to use our brains and make plans, but He also expects us to submit those plans to Him. The Lord made us for Himself and all our plans are to reflect this.

Realizing how God’s plans overrule our plans takes away an overinflated sense of self-importance. Our plans do not stand on their own because we are not our own; we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. Moreover, we shouldn’t get ourselves all worked up about our plans because the Lord has a plan for us and His plan will prevail. God’s design is perfect. He makes no mistakes. Thank God, His purpose in Jesus Christ is not dependent on us. His plan will be accomplished. His purpose will prevail.