Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. — Proverbs 19:21
May this verse enlighten us of one thing, that God and only God’s plan alone will prevail no matter what.
Who among us made any exciting plans this 2020? Certainly, almost everyone! We had envisioned much of what should take place in our lives this year, but then Corona Virus suddenly distorted the picture. It is an ongoing ride to our destinations, but this pandemic shook us out of our rut and caused a total change in our lives and plans. Now, everything seems so uncertain.
Just as when we are walking through the plan of God, we know we have an enemy who prowls to steal, kill, and destroy our hope and our joy. It will cause us to sin, defiling everything good. Sin will deceive us and make us believe that planning is all about us and not about God. It will dictate life is all about what we can do and what we can achieve. It will make us forget about who the Lord is, what He has done, and it will distract us from the things that He is about to do through us for His Glory. The enemy will stir up our pride and will try to point the glory towards us. Pride is self-centered and it plans selfishly. It makes us look good on the outside, but the truth is, we are decaying from the inside. Pride can lead us to envy, frustration, and depression amid our successes and failures. Pride is sin. And this sin is deadlier than the Corona Pandemic we are afraid of.
Should we be discouraged? No.
Should we stop making plans for our future because we sin? Please don’t.
It’s comforting to know that it is the Lord who enables us to plan and they are the fruits of God’s wisdom bestowed to us. These plans remind us that there is a future ahead of us. They flourish our hopes. In the parables of His Second coming, our Lord, Jesus Christ would always call His people to come prepared for the future that He had set before us. There is an ever-glorious hope that Christ is arriving soon — our Lord and Master, our Groom and Redeemer, the Glorious King.
Now, what must be done?
Proverbs 16:3
“Commit your work to the Lord,
and your plans will be established.”
What is committing everything to the Lord? In reality, we are nothing and cannot do anything apart from Him. And most importantly, God is absolutely Sovereign. We may ask, ‘’Why do we even have to pray if God is already is in full control and is Sovereign?” Because it shows our dependence upon God and this gives the glory that is due Him. Whatever it is that He sets to happen, will always happen no matter what. All things created, all events occurred, will always point out to Christ. To Him and Him alone.
Colossians 1:16–17
16 “For by Him all things were created,
in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities
— all things were created through him and for him.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
Let us continue to Trust Him, and always remember that even the greatest plan ever created will never work if it is not in line with His sovereign will.
Friends, let us rely on Him — the only One who is certain amid all the uncertainties happening in our present time. It is not even our plan to choose Him, for we were dead in sin and incapable of coming to Him. We didn’t choose Him, He chose us, and He has perfectly planned everything. He offered His life and redeemed us from our sins, all for His Glory. Great is His love for us.
Romans 5:6–8
6 “For while we were still weak,
t the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person —
though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Let’s submit ourselves to Christ. May the Lord forgive us of our pride and self-centeredness. If we stopped trusting Him, if we have doubted Him, may He grant us a genuine heart to repent and continuously grow in His Holiness. Trials and suffering will always remind us that we don’t have full control of everything. And when we have come to that realization, may it lead us to only One who is in control of everything. His words and promises are written for us to believe and continue to have peace in Him.
John 16:33
33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
He is our Mighty Champion! Our Glorious King!
We are commanded to pray for one another, for our families and friends, for our church, for our government, for our nation, and the world. May we continue to share who He is not just in our words, posts, but in our actions out of Love. The world doesn’t need to know our own opinion of what’s happening around us, they only need to know Christ, and Him crucified for our sake, all for His Glory.
God bless you all!
Justin D. Vicedo
June 3, 2020
Golden Nuggets:
What points your focus towards yourself instead of God?
What are the promises of God that we can hold on to during this pandemic?
How can we share Jesus as the only Cure to this dying world?