Wisdom & Planning – Proverbs 16:1-5,9,25,33

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7)

1. We might have the first word, but God always has the last word

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.” (James 4:13-16)

“Cast your bread upon the waters,
for you will find it after many days.
Give a portion to seven, or even to eight,
for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.

If the clouds are full of rain,
they empty themselves on the earth,
and if a tree falls to the south or to the north,
in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
He who observes the wind will not sow,
and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.” (Ecclesiastes 11:1-6)

2. We might be blind to our true motives, but the LORD is not

“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.” (Proverbs 12:15)

“Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” (Proverbs 26:12)

“There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth.” (Proverbs 30:12)

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (Proverbs 16:25)

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

3. Planning is a good thing, but it won’t ultimately be successful without the LORD’s blessing

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)

The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)

4. We might wonder why certain things happen, but the LORD has a purpose in all things

5. Even the seemingly random things are under the LORD’s control

“So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech.” (Ruth 2:3)