The Path

Time is an interesting concept. We have 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day and 365 days in a year not counting leap years. As a kid I felt like I had all the time in the world, I never had to plan anything. My parents planned everything from when I woke to when we went to school, when we ate, when we played and when we went to bed. The older I got the more planning I had to do, and the more I had to focus on time management to accomplish my plans. I still remember getting my first alarm clock, it was exciting and a little stressful knowing that I was in charge of waking myself up. (Thank God for the snooze button) Now, as an adult with two amazing kids and a very patient wife I feel like every minute in a day all 1,440 of them are spoken for. We plan every aspect of our day. Planning and coordination is the key to keeping kids and schedules running smoothly.

Solomon, in the book of Proverbs, discusses the relationship of man’s planning and God’s directing work multiple times (Proverbs 16:1; 19:21 and; 20:24). One example that I think about often is found in Proverbs 16:9: “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” (ESV). As humans we often plan and prepare for future events, but in each case God directs the outcome. This is comforting to me knowing that as I go throughout my plans, I know that God will direct my outcome. As we go through the Lenten journey take a moment and set your plans in place and know that God will establish the path.

Prayer:
Lord, direct our ways and guide our steps. Let us not look to our own plans, but to the good plans you have for us. Amen.