He Has a Plan for Us

This is the third in a series of blogs on The Good News as a part of the Armor of God.

As our loving Father, God has a plan for us. He has freed us from the old law (Galatians 5:1-15). He wants us to be made alive with Christ in His new covenant (Ephesians 2:1-10). He wants us to have oneness and peace in Christ (Ephesians 2:11-18, 3:6-13). And through His word He gives us instructions to follow (Proverbs 2:1-4). This is Good News!

In Proverbs 2:1-4 the writer considered his role as a father and provided instructions that he wanted his child to follow. As the inspired word of God, the Lord is using the writer to teach us His instructions to follow since we are His children. The following are my reflections on our Lord’s instructions.

In Proverbs 2:1 we are told, "My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands.” We are often more interested in getting people to listen to us and to value what we think. But the Lord wants us to listen to Him and value His instructions. Until we place real value on His instructions, they won't be important to us. Years ago, there was a television ad campaign that said, "When Merrill Lynch speaks, people listen!" This ad presumed that Merrill Lynch was so valued by people that whenever Merrill Lynch said something everyone would immediately stop talking and turn to listen to what Merrill Lynch said. God, through Jesus Christ, has demonstrated His value far beyond anything Merrill Lynch or anyone else could do or say by lowering Himself to become a man, by dying on a cross, and by rising from the dead in order to be the single sacrifice for all of our sins! Well, we listen to what we value. Consider what you value and why, because it determines what you listen to. If we truly believe that the Lord's instructions are a treasure, we will stop other things we are doing and take the time to listen to them, read them, study them, and embrace them.

In Proverbs 2:2 we are told, “Tune your ears to wisdom, …” Your media player and streaming services have many channels to choose from. Do you have a favorite channel or a favorite program? In simplistic terms you use your media device to select or tune the one channel you want while ignoring all the other channels. In the same way we need to select to tune God’s wisdom. There are many different things that we can let our ears hear, our eyes see, and our nose smell, but we choose what they are (good or bad). In Ecclesiastes 8:1 it says, “How wonderful to be wise, to analyze and interpret things. Wisdom lights up a person’s face, softening its harshness.” We should strive to tune our attention to the things that we will benefit from, and wisdom should be at the top of that list.

In Proverbs 2:2 we are told, “… and concentrate on understanding.” A review of dictionary sources for the word "understanding" leads to several definitions:

1) To perceive and comprehend the nature and significance of.

2) To know thoroughly by close contact or long experience with.

3) To grasp or comprehend the meaning intended or expressed by (another).

4) To comprehend the language, sounds, form, or symbols of.

5) To know and be tolerant or sympathetic toward.

6) To learn indirectly, as by hearsay.

7) To infer.

8) To accept (something) as an agreed fact.

9) To supply or add mentally.

These definitions emphasize the many facets of understanding and illustrate the depth of commitment needed to truly understand any subject. Some subjects are easy to understand and are by their very nature intuitive; for example, when it's hot outside, don't touch metal objects because you know they will burn your hand and fingers. Many other subjects are more complex and require more thought to fully comprehend them; for example, how a husband can truly love his wife in ways that she will be emotionally moved to love him in return. For a husband to succeed at loving his wife, he needs to take the time to evaluate her needs, study her, listen to her and then respond to her in ways that are important to her. This requires a concentration on the subject of interest that is enforced with commitment and dedication in order to succeed. In the same manner, we need to concentrate on our relationship with God to truly understand His plans and His will for our life through prayer and the study of His word.

In Proverbs 2:3 we are told, “Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding.” It is one thing to concentrate on a subject, but it is quite another thing to put your heart and soul into it. Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like you were missing something very important? It was something so important that without it you felt vulnerable and unable to control your circumstances. When you felt this way, you were completely focused on it and you spent every hour and minute thinking about it until it was resolved in your mind. Emotionally speaking, your heart and soul were wrapped up in trying to reach out and find a way to obtain that which was important to you. In this same manner, we need to cry out to the Lord to receive insight and understanding. Godly insight and understand should be very important to us and should drive us to cry out to God to get it. I’m not suggesting that you spend every waking minute of each day crying out to God for this, but it should be part of your prayer each time you pray to God. When you pray, sincerely ask God to give you His insight and understanding as you speak to Him about your supplications.

In Proverbs 2:4 we are told, “Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.” If you ever lost a significant amount of money you know what that feels like. Initially you frantically retrace your steps hoping to find where you put it. If you can’t find it, you retrace your steps again hoping that maybe you just overlooked something obvious. You may even repeat this process several more times if you don’t find it. Godly instructions, wisdom, understanding, and insight should be viewed as worth more than any cash we have on hand. Even more valuable than a hidden treasure; should you ever come across a valid treasure map.

The Lord has a plan for us, and we should seek it out; shaken not stirred.

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All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.