God’s Good Plans

Listen to advice and accept instruction,and in the end you will be wise.Many are the plans in a man’s heart,but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 19:20-21 (NIV)

We live in a world with information overload. Advice comes at us from all directions. But above all, God wants to play the primary role of mentor and advisor in our lives. His Word is full of explanations and examples of both good and bad choices and the results of each.

This is one of the reasons I never get tired of encouraging people to read The One Year Bible. There are so many Christians who just aren’t personally familiar with the lessons from Abraham’s life, or Lot’s life, or Saul’s and David’s lives. They’re not reading the Proverbs every day or the Epistles. If that’s you, please pray about picking one up and starting to read today. God wants to meet you with fresh manna and timely advice from his Word.

A few years ago I was struggling with some big decisions. I had been praying, asking the Lord to direct. It just so happened that I was with some friends at the Grand Canyon. As I watched the sunset, I was overwhelmed with the power and majesty of a God who would create such a masterpiece. The next morning, I opened my One Year Bible to read the psalm for the day. As I read the words, I could sense the Lord’s voice saying in Psalm 32:8, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye” (NKJV).

And so that morning, surrounded by the Grand Canyon, I felt secure, surrounded by the God who made it.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

I want to ask you a question. Do you live the majority of your days making your own decisions and plans? Honestly, how often do you ask God’s opinion? He is interested in both the major and minor issues—because he is interested in you. He knows what lies ahead. Listen to his voice say to you, “For I know the plans I have for you. . . . They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).

One Year Bible Reading

2 Chronicles 1:1–3:17; Romans 6:1-23; Psalm 16:1-11; Proverbs 19:20-21