Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)
My career plan was to get a job at a particular hospital in my town. I submitted my resume for many jobs, searched LinkedIn for contacts, and overwhelmed the hiring managers with letters and emails. Sometimes I got interviews and other times I got nothing, even though I was qualified for the positions. Every time I drove by, I thought, “I wonder why they don’t want to hire me.”
Instead of depending on our own plans, how do we trust God’s plans instead?
How to trust God’s plan
A section of Proverbs called the blessings of wisdom (Proverbs 3:1-12) includes our key verse. Proverbs are not promises from God, but are wise sayings and advice attributed to Solomon, the wisest King of Israel. The section includes four commands and four rewards.
In Proverbs 3: 5-6, the command is trust God with all your heart, and the reward is He will show you what path to take. Not just guidance, but He removes obstacles and smooths the way for our plans to succeed.
Get to know God
To trust God with all your heart, get to know Him first, because you cannot trust someone you don’t know.
How do you get acquainted with a friend? Spend time with them and learn more about them. Everything about God is in the Bible, so read God’s Word and pray to establish a relationship with Him.
Set godly goals
First, to set godly goals, ask God what our goals should be.
Godly goals honor and please God and require the Holy Spirit to accomplish. We must step out of our comfort zone. God-sized goals give God glory when we accomplish them, because we could never accomplish them on our own.
Read more about how to set godly goals here.
Decide God’s plans are better than our plans
Trust God’s plan is best, because, as a commentary states, “All the wisdom a person may acquire can never replace the need for full trust in God’s superior ways.” [1]
When we ask God to make us comfortable, happy, or more successful, our plans are self-serving. And when our plans fail, we are disappointed, bitter, and even mad at God.
Sometimes, our plans must fail in order to fulfill God’s plans. Mark Batterson, author of The Circle Maker, wrote about how his church plant failure in Illinois led him to his destiny in Washington, DC, to start National Community Church. He wrote, “Part of praying hard is persisting in prayer even when we don’t get the answer we want. It’s choosing to believe that God has a better plan. And He always does!” 2
Disappointments in our plans contribute to the fulfillment of God’s plan for us. So trust God’s plans for your life.
Final thoughts
I finally realized I would never get a job at the hospital in my town as I planned. However, my current job led to learning the Epic system, which resulted in moving to North Carolina for my job at Duke. I know this was God’s plan because He opened the doors and smoothed the way for me.
Are you disappointed when your plans don’t work out despite your determination? Sometimes our plans fail in order for God’s plans to prevail.
References
- Buzzell, S. S. (1985). Proverbs. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 911). Victor Books.
- Batterson, Mark, Circle Maker (p. 128). Zondervan, 2016.
