concrete plans

My current go-around with the book of Proverbs has been a lot tougher, and yet more pleasant than any of my previous encounters. One reason might be the manner in which I am reading it. Instead of simply reading and jotting down ideas, I am categorizing the entire book as best as I can. I got the idea from Mark Driscoll after watching one of his sermon series over the course of last year. My Bible is littered with tiny symbols marking most of the verses. My categories list grew in the first couple of chapters, but then maxed out after ten or so. The categories include being wise in finances, relationships, work, speech, and a couple of others. Being the product of a computer geek father (no offense Big Guy), I put my results onto a spreadsheet so I could refer back to it whenever I wanted a specific verse regarding one of the categories. To be honest, the process has been rather exciting! (Okay, now who's the geek?) At this point, I am a little more than halfway through, and my chart is filling up on a daily basis. The blessing has been to see how much God has to say about a lot of the issues we get bogged down with. The wisdom of God should (and does) infiltrate every aspect of life!

The category causing the most wrestling (and blessing) undoubtedly revolves around vision. This came as no surprise to me seeing that my vision is the most clouded it has been in a long while. In one aspect, I can see what is directly in front of me, so I am content. However, what's around the next corner makes me anxious because I don't know what's on the other side. In essence, I feel a little like Samwise Gamgee (my favorite fictional character of all time). He is able to find joy in the moments with his "Master" Frodo, but agonizes over the unforeseen shadows growing ever closer. My heart wrestles over letting God possibly wreck all my plans and establish new ones. Actually, I even wrestle over Him doing nothing to thwart my intentions. My two-faced heart wants to let Him do some rearranging, but only if the damage is minimal.

My experience in Proverbs over the past month has revealed that God has a lot to say about what I thought was a "unique" situation. Proverbs 16:9 says, "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." Humiliation set in the moment I read this verse. My vision was that of a fool. (Solomon's usage of this word throughout Proverbs cannot be understated because it is exactly how we act). I convinced myself that it was I who not only planned my way, but saw my plans to fruition. Heart's all better, right? Wrong! The very next chapter deals the knockout punch. "The discerning sets his face towards wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth." (17:24, emphasis added). T-K-O. Only now is my heart ready for what God has in store for me. In my humiliation I have learned the sovereignty of our God. He doesn't want my eyes fixed on the corner ahead or even the ground in front of me. He wants them on Him! Anywhere else leads to foolishness. Apparently, the tough part about reading Proverbs has been the Spirit's exposing of this foolishness, while the blessing comes from the wisdom gained. Proverbs equates wisdom to the fear of the Lord, and Proverbs 19: 23 says, "The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied."