29 June

 Your plans should never be made independently of the Lord. You are called into relationship with him. Your plans need to be aligned with his plans. Your vision and your plans need to be led by the Spirit. As you sense God’s leading, commit your plans to the Lord. Bring them to him. Lay them before him. Then God promises ‘your plans will succeed’ (v.3). What does it mean to commit to the Lord whatever you do?

Cooperate

One translation of the Hebrew word for commit is to ‘roll towards’. There are two ways to go through life. One is to decide that we are perfectly capable of running our own lives – without God. We make plans independently of God to please ourselves. This is the way of pride (v.5) and independence. The proud cannot be told anything because they think they already know.

The other is to be willing to lay aside your own desires. This is the way of faith and humility: ‘Humility comes before honour’ (15:33).

God has good plans for your life (Jeremiah 29:11; Romans 12:2; Ephesians 2:10). Cooperate humbly with him, being willing to give up everything that clashes with his purpose for you.Confide

To commit your plans to the Lord means to speak to him about his plans – to make plans together with him. At the start of each day you can commit your plans to him. I find that holidays are a good time to plan ahead and commit the months, or even the year ahead, to God.

I remember hearing the actor David Suchet, when he had recently become a Christian, being asked on the radio whether there were certain roles he would turn down. He replied, ‘That is a very difficult question. All I can say is now when I am offered a part I go away and pray about it and if I feel it is wrong I turn it down, whereas before it would have been, “How much?”’Consult

The Lord says, ‘Woe… to those who carry out plansthat are not mine… Who go down to Egypt withoutconsulting me’ (Isaiah 30:1–2a). To commit to the Lord means to consult him and discuss your plans with him and seek his wisdom and advice (Proverbs 15:33a). With major decisions a wise person will consult others to check that you have accurately heard from the Lord (vv.31–32).

Having committed your plans to the Lord you can trust his promise of success. God is sovereign over your plans. ‘Mortals make elaborate plans, but God has the last word’ (16:1, MSG). ‘In your heart you may plan your course, but the Lord determines your steps’ (v.9).

God gives you the freedom and responsibility to make plans. It is positively right for you to do this. And yet, God relates your decisions to your future. This is not a reason to be passive or fatalistic, but rather it is an encouragement that you can rest assured that God is in ultimate control of your life. You need not be frozen in a state of indecision.

You can trust that God will work out everything for good for those who love him (vv.6b,7; Romans 8:28)