Surrendering Your Agenda to the Lord

The Plans of Man

Our society pushes the goal and driven ambition of setting and executing one’s own plan. From new calendar year planners to vision boards to five-year-plans there is a distinct drive to be the author and conductor of your own life. The phrase, “write your own story” often adorns journals and mugs to serve as a motto of being the one in control. As lofty of a goal it is, and often a goal purposed with good intentions, we must remember that we do not know everything and we must not be so arrogant to think that our plans are the most secure, the best, or the most correct course of action. Perhaps we would find in surrendering our agendas to the Lord that indeed He has something far superior ahead.

As we dive into the Word of God, we find that there is truly nothing new under the sun, just as Solomon wisely said in reflection of what he had experienced in his own life. What we find in Scripture is those who lived in the past had their hearts set in ambition of controlling outcomes just as we have the same desire today. Proverbs 19:21 invites us into a deeper calling and a reminder that we are not the ones holding the metaphorical pen in our lives,

“Many plans are in a man’s heart,
But the counsel of the LORD will stand.” Proverbs 19:21

In breaking down the verse in its original Hebrew we find deeper understanding in the specific word choices. The word for plans in the verse is, “maḥăšāḇâ” which translated means, “a contrivance, i.e. (concretely) a texture, machine, or (abstractly) intention, plan (whether bad, a plot; or good, advice): cunning (work), curious work, device(-sed), imagination, invented, means, purpose, thought.” What we can draw from in the well of this word choice is that plans extend far past just what we intend to do in action. There is an imaginative work, plot, or purpose that is set in our hearts and minds towards an end goal. These goals are usually for the most part ones that we strive for with no malice or harm, but they are almost always the ones that involve little to no pushback, trial, or disruption in execution. This is not to imply by any means that the plans of God are somehow sadistic or has a mind to stir issues or cause delays, but we must not fall prey to the thought that life is something streamlined or without issue. Instead, what we must rely on is that in a fallen world when our plans are sidetracked or when the unexpected occurs that it has not caught God by surprise. We can rest firmly that no matter what occurs we are never without the ability to call upon the Lord.

The Will of Man

The word for heart in this verse is, “lēḇ” and within its definition it holds a very important meaning of the will of man. The will and the desire of man is a plan that is under his or her control entirely, one that is not met by opposition, derailment, or roadblocks. Yet again we must recognize that in our world that is not something that can always be obtained, but perhaps it is also a reminder to us that in our own efforts to control a situation we box in God, we limit Him.  Additionally, we forget His plans can do far more than we can even fathom on our own. We see this explained in Isaiah 55:9,

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9

At first glance it seems so simple, but in reality, it is far more complex than we can even imagine. For He is in the macro and the micro of things, and He can transform situations in ways we never thought possible. Tolkien brings up the idea that as creations made to reflect the One True Creator, we are given innately the ability to create. This carried out in action could be in the form of art, music, or prose, or beyond, but it is a sort of sub-creator status. This is given to serve as a gift and to remind us that we are made by the Ultimate Creator, YAHWEH.  Tolkien artfully paints it as, “man, sub-creator, the refracted light / through whom is splintered from a single white / to many hues, and endlessly combined / in living shapes that move from mind to mind.” What’s astounding in this is that in all that we can create, even thought-based scenarios that are spurred from anxiety, His thoughts, His ways, and His creativity to shift a circumstance or situation are endless and higher than anything we could even imagine. What a mystifying relief that can be to us that He is far bigger than we can even imagine. As Ephesians 3:20 thoughtfully reminds us,

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us” Ephesians 3:20

It is within our hearts, our minds, and our stories that He can do so much more than all we can even imagine. Let us not limit Him to what our lēḇ plans can define as the ultimate good or goal in a situation.

The Purposes of God

The second half of the verse invigorates us with the distinct hope that it is indeed the counsel of the Lord that shall stand. The word for counsel here is, ʿēṣâ which means, “purpose.” God has purposes and plans for not only His Will, but also for the benefit of mankind as a whole. Remember that no matter what your situation is, no matter how bleak or hopeless it looks, you are not without the Lord with you to navigate each moment. We are promised in John 14:16 that we have the Holy Spirit of the Lord with us in all situations when we call upon Him,

“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17

The Helper, the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is not only the Helper, but also the Spirit of Truth to give us true reality. The world will conclude that reality is what we can touch and see, but true reality is what is given by the Spirit of Truth Himself through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God works as Counselor to us as we are met with life. That is why it is vital to establish and grow in relationship with Him so that you may be sensitive to His voice, His nudges, and His peace in what life brings. When we invite the Holy Spirit to speak into matters, decisions, and plans it is there that we can experience the fullness of a relationship with God through His Spirit. It is also there that Proverbs 19:21 is lived out in the triumph of His plans standing. The word for stand here is, qûm, which aims to proclaim, “to fulfill, confirm, ratify, establish.” What a gift it is to walk with the Lord and to see His plans established in our world and in our lives.

Surrendering the Pen and Plan to the Lord

The heart of this verse is to offer to us the call to surrender our agendas to the Lord. As you embrace the first moments of a new year there are more than likely things you would love to see come to pass. Consider for a moment if you sought the counsel of the Lord to hear His heart for your next season of life? God may have an adventure for you to embark on with Him that is completely out of your expectations, but what if you allowed Him to establish something far better than you could have ever expected? What if the plan He has for your life is one that not only impacts your life, but that advances the work of His Kingdom here on earth? What if surrendering over your blueprint for life is met with a work, an assignment, or a mantle that He is entrusting you and only you to walk out? Seek the Helper, the Holy Spirit of Truth in every and all aspects of your life and expect to be met with a deeper, more profound knowledge of God and of the far superior plans He has for you, ones even the most vivid of imaginations could only wish to write. Remember that He is present with you in all times and all things, all you must do is call upon His Name. May this year establish a new hope in your life and a new curiosity of the marvelous qûm He seeks to bring forth with and through and in your life and in this world.

Sources:

https://www.blueletterbible.org/nasb95/pro/19/1/t_conc_647021

Blue Letter Bible dictionary

J.R.R. Tolkien, Mythopoeia

NASB translations for all verses