Good Plans are Peaceful || Proverbs 27:1 || Manna for the Mind #119

Welcome to Day 119 of the “Manna for the Mind” devotional! This series is about taking scripture passages (typically 1-3 verses) and building our understanding of their teachings through their context and connecting scripture. I believe that doing this helps us understand how to be the type of human that God created us to be.

Today’s passage is Proverbs 27:1, in which we’ll talk about how we can focus on today and not worry about tomorrow.

Proverbs 27:1

AMP	NLT	MSG
1 Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring.	1 Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring.	1 Don’t brashly announce what you’re going to do tomorrow; you don’t know the first thing about tomorrow.

Does this sound familiar to you? Jesus said something similar in Matthew 6, his famous Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 6:34

34           “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

Both Solomon and Jesus remind us to focus on today’s things. Tomorrow’s worries will exist for tomorrow, and it does no good for us to keep our focus on them today. Today is meant for today. The Lord’s prayer teaches us to ask for the daily bread for this day, not the next. We need to keep the strength given to us to prepare us for the highs and lows of the day ahead.

James 4:13-16

AMP	NLT	MSG
13 Come now [and pay attention to this], you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and carry on our business and make a profit.”	13 Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.”	13-15 And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, “Today—at the latest, tomorrow—we’re off to such and such a city for the year. We’re going to start a business and make a lot of money.” You don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. You’re nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. Instead, make it a habit to say, “If the Master wills it and we’re still alive, we’ll do this or that.”
14 Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen in your life tomorrow. [What is secure in your life?] You are merely a vapor [like a puff of smoke or a wisp of steam from a cooking pot] that is visible for a little while and then vanishes [into thin air].	14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.
15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and we will do this or that.”	15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”
16 But as it is, you boast [vainly] in your pretension and arrogance. All such boasting is evil.	16 Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.	16 As it is, you are full of your grandiose selves. All such vaunting self-importance is evil.

We need to have goals, but we shouldn’t have goals that leave God out of them. Seizing opportunities or being assertive without considering God’s wants will lead to frustration. In my experience, this has happened with job opportunities. My experience at Kroger and my work in learning an insurance job have fallen into this area. I wanted them because of the better pay, close-to-home work, and more, but it sacrificed both my mental health and my morals. I didn’t for the earthly benefits without involving God in the process.

A better plan starts by asking these questions: What would I like to be doing ten years from now? One year from now? Tomorrow? How will I react if God steps in and rearranges my plans? It’s good to start with the big picture and work to create the smaller steps to help us get to that plan. The plans we create, though, should be loose. We must put God’s desires at the center of our planning; he won’t disappoint us. After I left Kroger, I knew my goal was to help people, serve my community, and share Jesus’s love. When I reviewed the potential for H&R Block, the phrase “help people” happened increasingly, and I knew that God had me in the right spot. Let God guide the plans you create, but cling tight to them.

Let’s close with the familiar words in Jeremiah 29:11 that remind us that God’s plans are more significant than our own.

Jeremiah 29:11

11           For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.