So, for the most part, I am a planner. I like to work ahead and have time to tweak and be creative in work, in play and in life. It’s generally good to be “organized” and to plan, but what the last few years have taught me is that I can plan all I want, but some things are just out of my control!

As I was reading scripture the other day, this struck a chord. Proverbs 16:3:

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.

I have read this verse countless times but this time was different. On this day, I came to the sudden realization that I have been reading this verse wrong all these years. I have actually been reading it backwards. I have been reading it as, ‘Commit your plans to the Lord and He will establish whatever you do.’

What I’ve done is planned and then presented it to the Lord, and said, “Lord will you bless this?” Or “Lord, will you make this happen?” But Proverbs doesn’t say that, it says: Commit to the Lord whatever you do and HE will establish your plans!

And here is the other thing that struck me. There are times when we might read this verse and think, ‘I don’t have anything that can even turn into a plan.’

I want to remind us of something…Do you remember the story of Moses? Do you remember when God said to Moses at the burning bush, “What do you have in your hand?”?

In Exodus 4, Moses was acutely aware of his own weaknesses, and he expressed to the Lord his fear in God’s call to him to lead Israel out of bondage.

So God simply asked Moses, “What is that in your hand?” (Exodus 4:2).

God shifted Moses’ attention away from his anxiety about the future and suggested he notice what was right in front of him—a shepherd’s rod. And God used that ordinary staff to perform extraordinary miracles.

So, today, hear the Lord saying to you:

“What do you have in your hand? Commit that to Me and let Me establish your plans.”