8/24/2025
Turn with me to Proverbs 19:20-21. These are our verses to study and memorize this week.
Proverbs 19:20-21 Listen to counsel and accept discipline, That you may be wise the rest of your days. 21 Many plans are in a man’s heart, But the counsel of the LORD will stand.
Introduction
In Proverbs 18:22-19:24 we have been looking at “finding good” in our relationships. We have looked at marriage, the family, true friendship, money, as well our relationship to the broader society and government. To cap it off Solomon has now arranged Proverbs 19:15-24 in what we call a chiasm to give us some additional wisdom for our relationships.
A chiasm is like a pyramid or a pool ladder. The first and last verses match each other in their content, the second and second to last verses match, the third and third to last verses match, and so on, (depending on how big the chiasm is). Then the center of the chiasm becomes the pinnacle of the passage. The top of the pyramid has been reached. The top of the ladder, with the goal of entering the pool, has been achieved. Then begins the process of descent. After achieving our goal and learning the main point being taught in a chiasm it is still important to remember the rest of what has been taught along the way. Thus a chiasm is a very helpful learning tool that both points one to what is of most importance in the center, but also repeats the concepts of each step to aid in our memory and learning of those points.
Currently we are in the middle of the four verse center of the chiasm which began with Proverbs 19:18-19. We looked at those two verses last time as we saw the command to discipline our children, and to not get in the way of God’s discipline of people who have persistent, sinful behaviors. The purpose of discipline is not to harm the individual, but rather to teach them. It is to push them to learn from wrong and dangerous behaviors. It is ultimately for their good. That is what godly parents aim to do with their discipline. That is what God does with His discipline of us.
Now in verses 20-21 we move from the negative side of giving discipline to the positive side of accepting it. We will be seeing the importance of receiving discipline and counsel. Just like with the first two verses, these last two begin with a command. Listen to counsel and accept discipline. Similarly, the second verse broadens out the focus from beyond just children and parents to the bigger, ultimate picture of our relationship with God.
Have you ever struggled to receive the counsel of your parents when they were giving you advice? Have you ever struggled to learn from the discipline you received because you were more frustrated with it than with the behavior it was supposed to correct? Have you ever ignored the commands and truths of God’s Word because you wanted to do something different? Have you ever been angry at God for things He has allowed into your life as consequences of your actions? If so, verse 20 gives us a powerful truth to help us look beyond ourselves and learn to learn the lessons we are being taught.
Similarly, have you ever had plans for something that you really wanted to do, or something you worked really long and hard for and had them completely upset? Or maybe you thought you had everything figured out with what seemed the best way to do something and then God’s plan completely change everything? If so, verse 20 gives us the ultimate perspective on whose counsel and plans we need to be following, seeking, and living for.
All in all, these verses really help us to boil down some important counter-intuitive truths that are essential for “finding good” in our relationships. So let’s look more closely now at Proverbs 19:20-21.
20 Listen to counsel and accept discipline, That you may be wise the rest of your days.
Wisdom is produced by paying attention to counsel and learning from discipline.
In its immediate context, this proverb has a two-sided focus. Most obviously, given the command for parents to discipline their children in Proverbs 19:18, children need to be sure to listen to that discipline and instruction! Just as true, though, this applies to all of us in our relationship to God. The next verse, Proverbs 19:21, makes that clear. It is God’s counsel which will be established. We need to be teachable. We need to humble ourselves before God. We need to acknowledge our sin and His correction of it. We need to turn from that sin and follow Him in obedience and righteousness.
When we do these things it leads to wisdom. It is important to note something here. This is an ongoing command or reality. It is not just a one time thing that if we listen to counsel and accept discipline once, it will forever cause us to be wise. The word for “rest of your days” has to do with something that happens afterwards, or at the conclusion, or the end outcome. So this is more saying that as we make it the pattern of our life to listen to God’s counsel and receive His discipline and learn from them it will lead to wisdom as a result. We must cultivate a teachable spirit that does not hold onto our own desires, decisions, or way of life as irrevocable. We must be able to recognize where we are wrong and turn from that to the right way of living. We must be humble enough to admit when there is a better way of doing something, and be willing to change. We must always give first priority to God’s wisdom, guidance, correction, and instruction. If we do this, it will lead to wisdom as its result. We will end up as wise ourselves. We will end up arriving at wisdom itself at the end of our road.
Think about this for a minute with how broad and true this really is. Where is all wisdom and knowledge found? According to Colossians 2:3 in Jesus “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. As we continue to go to and listen to the source of all wisdom we will ourselves be wise. Beyond that, what will be the end outcome of our lives? If we are following the wisdom of God, if we are listening to His discipline, then we will see that we are sinners who are on the pathway of death and destruction. We will also see God’s call through His Word to come to Him for His redemption, forgiveness, and everlasting life. We will see how God provided all that through Jesus with His death, burial, and resurrection to pay the penalty for our sin. Then we will trust in Him as our Lord and Savior. We will receive His free gift of eternal life. We will turn from our sin to His transforming work in our lives. Day by day we will keep looking to Him to have Him transform our lives into the image of holiness that we see in Jesus as 2 Corinthians 3:18 says. Then, one day when He returns or we die, He will complete His good work in us as Philippians 1:6 talks about. The end outcome for us will be that we arrive at the feet of wisdom eternally in heaven with Jesus. As we listen to His counsel and discipline now, God begins the process of making us wise, perfecting us, making us holy, and bringing us to Himself. Our end outcome will indeed that we will be wise as we learn wisdom from Jesus and as He conforms us to His image of holiness.
Thus, to find and to continue to find good in our relationships—and really, to have what is good and best in every other aspect of life—the central key is listening to God’s counsel and discipline. We must heed His wisdom. That will grow us in our wisdom and bring us to eternally having true wisdom.
Have you trusted in Jesus to begin walking on His redeemed way of wisdom? Are you continuing to listen to His counsel and accept His discipline? Are you letting His perspective change yours?
Scriptural Example: In Scripture there are quite a number of examples of this proverb. Think of any godly person in the Bible: Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Hezekiah, Daniel, Peter, John Mark, etc. They had their weaknesses and flaws. Yet, when they listened to God’s counsel, trusted His Word, heeded His rebuke, and accepted His discipline it led to wisdom. God made them more holy. They accomplished great things for Him. Ultimately it led to good in their relationships and lives. On the other hand, when they started doing things their own way, apart from God’s wisdom, things fell apart.
Consider Peter’s life. In Matthew 14:28-31 it tells us that he looked to Jesus and walked on water. Yet what happened when he got his eyes off of Jesus and onto the waves and storm? He began sinking. That discipline for his lack of faith pushed him back to crying out to Jesus to save him. He had to learn to keep his eyes on Jesus, depend on Him, and trust Him regardless of his circumstances.
The same thing was true for Peter again in Matthew 16. There he foundationally confessed Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Yet, right after that he began rebuking Jesus for prophesying about His coming death and resurrection! Peter got his eyes off of who Jesus was and onto what he wanted Him to be and do. Jesus rebuked him as a tool of Satan. Unfortunately he did not learn his lesson from the words of that rebuke. His self-confidence and pride led him to later proclaim that even if all the other disciples abandoned Jesus in His hour of persecution he never would (Matthew 26:33-35). Then, in fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy about him, he fell fully on his face and ended up strongly denying Jesus three times during Jesus’ trial. Jesus turned and looked at him. His pride came crashing down. He fled and wept bitterly (Matthew 26:75). He returned to fishing and had to be restored through Jesus’ soul-searching pursuit and questioning.
But then what happened? He learned and looked to God. He spent the days after Jesus’ ascension in prayer in the upper room with the other disciples. Then God’s Spirit came upon them and they were powerfully used at Pentecost and in the establishment of the church. Listening to God’s counsel and accepting His discipline truly leads to wisdom in our words and actions.
Proverb in Comparison: When we compare this proverb with the rest of Scripture we see that it’s truths are exactly what we need to follow in our own lives today. After 11 chapters of carefully explaining humanity’s sinful, condemned situation in this world and God’s work of salvation in Jesus, Paul’s practical application of those truths to Christian’s lives begins with this is Romans 12.
Romans 12:1-2 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
It is the Lord’s counsel and advice that we need, not the world’s. We must be careful not to allow ourselves to be conformed to this world with its way of doing things. Instead, we need our minds to be transformed by their continual renewing. That is how we will know what God’s will is. We must surrender our bodies and present them to God to live for Him in all areas. That is how we will be able to carry out His will. This is the essence of true worship.
How do we get this renewed mind? Deuteronomy 32:28-29 give us the first step.
Deuteronomy 32:28-29 “For they are a nation lacking in counsel, And there is no understanding in them. 29 “Would that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would discern their future!
To have a renewed mind, we need to first realize the problem with our mind, like Romans 1-3 talks about. In our flesh our minds are sinful, deceived, misguided, and going in the wrong direction. We must realize, like Israel, that on our own we do not have wisdom and the right counsel. Nor will we get it from the world around us. To discern the future and to discern wisdom, we must understand our lack of wisdom.
James 1:5-8 gives us the second key component: pray to God and ask Him in faith for wisdom.
James 1:5-8 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Seek God through prayer to earnestly ask Him for wisdom. We need to ask God for this renewed mind. But it is not simply an empty, rote saying of words. This is prayer with a heart behind it. This is a heart of seeking, desiring, wanting God’s wisdom. It also is a heart of faith. We need to trust Him to give us the wisdom we need. Colossians 1:9-10 reiterates this key component of prayer as Paul shares his personal prayers for the Colossian church.
Colossians 1:9-10 For this reason also [because of their love in the Spirit], since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Do you see what is going on here? Paul is praying for them that they would be filled with knowledge, godly wisdom, and understanding. This prayer is targeted. There is a content of truth they need to learn. Notice, also, that this is a process, a cycle. Paul prayed for them to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, so that they would carry it out. In turn they would be “increasing in the knowledge of God.” We learn about God and His will. We obey. We learn more and more about Him and His will. We act on it.
Thus prayer is essential in renewing our mind, but where do we get that content of truth, that knowledge of God and His will? 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us the third component.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
Where do we get the concrete details of the counsel of God and of the discipline that we need to accept? We get it from God’s Word which He has carefully inspired, given, and preserved for us in the 66 books of the Holy Scriptures. So, to become wise, we need to see our need for it, to pray seeking God with the right heart attitude for it, and to study Scripture for it. There is one more key to this that we have hinted at. Matthew 11:29 highlights it.
Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.
We need to take Jesus’ yoke. We need to obey what Jesus says. That is when knowledge becomes wisdom. That is when we truly listen to counsel with more than just our ears. That is when we accept His rebuke and learn from it. Doing these things is what renews our minds. 1. See our need for wisdom. 2. Ask God for wisdom in prayer with a trusting heart of truly seeking to know Him and His will. 3. Go to God’s Word for its truths to fill our minds with the facts of His wisdom. Then, 4. Take Jesus’ yoke upon yourself. Follow Him wherever He leads, in obedience to what He has taught in His Word. This is the pattern of life that we are to daily live by. This renews our minds from our former fleshly way of living, and from the world’s lies to the transformed way of life that God has for His children to live by.
To be wise, to be growing in our wisdom, to arrive at our destination of wisdom with God’s praise “well done, thou good and faithful servant” we need to listen to the counsel He gives in His Word and learn from His discipline which He gives to us along the way. We get to this point by realizing our lack of wisdom, praying to God earnestly in faith, seeking it in His Word, and following Him in obedience. This is renewing our minds. This is not being conformed to the world, but seeking Him to transform our minds.
Revelation 3:14-22 gives us a helpful picture of learning from God’s counsel and rebuke with the instructions that are given to the church of Laodicea. This is written to believers, not unbelievers. Notice the importance of recognizing our need for God’s wisdom over our self-sufficient provision, of seeking God for His wisdom and provision, of needing wisdom and truth to be able to see reality clearly, and of the need for obedience and following Him.
Revelation 3:14-22 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: 15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. 17 ‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, 18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. 19 ‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. 20 ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. 21 ‘He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
Truth in Connection: As we apply all this to our lives as believers in Jesus, we ought to ask ourselves how we are doing with listening to God’s counsel and accepting His rebuke. You can double-check this by asking yourself how you have been doing in making progress in examining your life from the things we mentioned back in Proverbs 19:16. Are you truly loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, and might? Is Jesus your first love, or are you lukewarm? Is your main focus in life serving God, or yourself? Are you faithful in your church attendance? Are you faithful and joyful in your giving? Are you faithful and joyful in your daily time reading, journaling, and studying God’s Word? Are you devoted to prayer? Do you sing and praise God? Do you meditate on what is good and edifying with the music and messages you listen to? Are you sharing the gospel with others? Are you personally meeting with others to disciple them and to be encouraged and helped in following Jesus?
To put it in the terminology of Revelation 3, is Jesus standing at the door of your heart knocking because you really do not fellowship and spend much time with Him? How have you answered his knocks each day this past week to fellowship with Him?
If you have not personally trusted in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then that is where you must start. Listen to His counsel, accept His discipline. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life (Romans 6:23). Sin separates us from God and brings death, both physical death, as well as eternal separation from God—who is the source of all life. All of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). On our own none of us seek after God. We seek after our sin (Romans 3:10-12).
Given these correcting truths from God, follow the promptings of His Spirit within your heart. Turn from your sin and trust Jesus to cleanse you, forgive you, remake you, save you, free you from your slavery to sin, and redeem you. This is why He came, added on humanity to His deity, and willingly gave His life on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. He took our place that we might be forgiven, made righteous, and reconciled to the Father. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31, KJV). Trust Him today! Then continue on day by day to listen to His counsel and accept His loving discipline.
Our next proverb guides us in listening to God’s counsel in the changing realities of our lives.
21 Many plans are in a man’s heart, But the counsel of the LORD will stand.
People make all kinds of plans and have all kinds of ideas, but it is God’s wise purposes which will come to pass.
This proverb is very similar to the one that we looked at in Proverbs 16:9.
Proverbs 16:9 The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.
Planning is what people do. They have something that they want to do, so they make arrangements to see how best to get there. For some people planning is fairly short range and limited. For other people it is quite detailed and extensive. For some most of their plans remains in their imagination. For others they work hard to bring them to pass. Some jump from plan to plan. Others stay focused working towards a main plan over years. Regardless, it is in the nature of people to make plans in their hearts and minds. Over it all, Proverbs 16:9 reminded us of God’s sovereignty over our lives. Now, Proverbs 19:21 adds to that and shows us that God has a sovereign purpose and plan for history. He has a standard of right and wrong which will be upheld. Because of that, we ought to listen to His counsel and pay attention when He disciplines us. Not every plan is equally good, right, or worthwhile. Not every plan will come to pass.
God’s plans, though, are perfectly good, right and worthwhile. Everything that He purposes to bring to pass will happen. His counsel and advice is perfect, infallible, and righteous. We may have plans, desires, goals, and pursuits, but if they are against His purposes and plans they will ultimately fail. Before we make plans, then, we ought to seek His wisdom and guidance. We ought to make sure that we understand His purpose for this world and for our lives. We ought to hold our plans loosely where we do not know His perfect will. We should seek His counsel and advice. We should be ready to change whenever He makes His purposes and guidance clear. We should acknowledge our ignorance of the details of our future and make plans with a “Lord willing” mentality.
Scriptural Example: In Scripture we see quite a number of examples of people making plans and God redirecting them. We see examples of people making plans against God and them failing. We see people getting ahead of God and His correction of them. That should all cause us to make sure that we seek out His purposes and plans every step of the way for our lives. It’s good to have ideas, but we must compare them to how they fit into God’s plan for this world and His purpose for our lives. If we want our plans to come to pass then we must make sure they do not go against His counsel and purposes.
For instance, Abraham and Sarah were promised that they would have a child who would fulfill God’s promise to make Abraham the father of many nations. When they saw the physically impossible nature of this with Sarah’s barrenness (humanly speaking) they came up with their own plan. Sarah gave her servant Hagar to Abraham to bear a child for her. That did not work out well. It produced jealousy, rivalry, and was not the fulfillment of what God had proclaimed. If only they had sought God’s counsel and not followed their own plans.
David provides another example. He wanted to build God a temple. That was a great goal to want to exalt God before the people. David felt out of place living in a beautiful palace while the Ark of the Covenant was in a tent. He did what he should have and asked Nathan the prophet about it. Unfortunately, Nathan gave his advice before consulting God. God then commanded Nathan otherwise that night.
David was a man of war and bloodshed. God would not have him build the temple. He would have David’s son build Him one. David had a plan in his heart, but it was not for him to carry out. God’s counsel, will, and purpose was something different. Here David did another good thing. He was flexible. He looked at God’s plan to figure out what he could do even though there were things he was not able to do. So he determined that he could make as many preparations for it as possible to make it easier for his son. So that is what he did. He gathered the silver, gold, and other things needed for building the temple.
In the New Testament, after His resurrection, Jesus’ disciples were focused on when Jesus was going to institute the kingdom of God. That was their main question for Him in Acts 1:6. But a quick instituting of the kingdom was not God’s plan. He wanted to bring people from all nations to come to salvation. So He told them that was not for them to know. Instead, what they needed was the Holy Spirit who was going to come upon them and empower them to be witnesses of His gospel to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the remotest parts of the earth. We are to know that Jesus is coming back and will institute His kingdom. But it is not for us to know when. Instead, it is for us to be faithful to make disciples of all nations.
Yet, even in carrying that out we will need to remain flexible to be guided by God’s Spirit when we make our plans for life. Remember Paul on his second missionary journey with Silas and Timothy? In Acts 16:6-9 we find out that they first tried to go toward Asia, then they tried to go to Bithynia, but in both cases the Holy Spirit prevented them. Finally God gave them a vision and guided them to cross over into Macedonia and then down into Greece. It was like Paul tried every other direction before God finally made it clear where he was supposed to go.
This was not the only time that occurred. In 2 Corinthians 1-2 Paul talks about how he had intended to visit the Corinthians, but situations had arisen which made that not feasible or best. God gave a different open door for ministry that he needed to pursue first (2 Corinthians 2:12). He had not been vacillating in his plans. Rather he needed to change them to match God’s purpose and plan.
God wants all of us to be pursuing how we can serve Him, to be building up fellow believers, to be proclaiming the gospel, and to be making disciples. In that process we may have many ideas for how God might use us. Yet, we need to remember that none of those are infallible. It is God’s counsel and will which will be accomplished. Thus we need to always be ready to serve but also to remain flexible in how and where as He closes and opens doors.
On the other side of things, with closed doors and redirection we might get worn out and discouraged. We also might wonder if or how God could even use us given our current situations or abilities. In these times we need to remember that it is not our wisdom, strength, or ability that really matters. It is God’s plan, God’s power, and God’s purposes for our lives that matter. As long as we are alive God has a purpose for us. It is God who gives to each one of His true children gifts and abilities to be used for the building up of the church and for the accomplishing of His great commission purposes.
Just like we talked about with renewing our minds and listening to God’s counsel and discipline we ought to do the same here. Acknowledge our lack of wisdom, acknowledge our struggles and limitations, then pray to God earnestly in faith, seek His wisdom in His Word, and then follow Him in obedience with all the strength and ability that we do have. Do all that you can. Do not give up. Keep fighting. Keep pursuing. Trust God and take His yoke upon you. Let Him carry His side and even you. God can close and open doors that are impossible for us. God can enable what is impossible for us. He will accomplish His purposes. Let’s trust Him, seek Him, and follow His counsel and purposes.
Proverb in Comparison: As we compare this proverb with the rest of Scripture, we see these principles of man having plans but God’s counsel being what stands reiterated time and again. In Isaiah 55:8-9 God declared this:
Isaiah 55:8-11 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.
Job learned this the hard way. He did not understand what God was doing. After all of his trials and his frustrated wondering at why God treated him like He did, God spoke to Job. He strongly and foundationally reminded him of who He was. Then Job acknowledged this in Job 42:2-6.
Job 42:2-6 “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. 3 ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ “Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” 4 ‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’ 5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; 6 Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes.”
Job learned that God’s plan was going to be accomplished and that God’s ways were higher than his. In the end he was humbled. Having more truly seen God for who He was, he was then ready to be instructed by Him. May we likewise see God for who He truly and be ready to be instructed by His wisdom which He has given to us in His Word. May we truly receive it.
In the New Testament, James 4:13-15 famously reminds us to be cautious and careful about our plans for the future. Instead of just making all kinds of plans for the future and for our financial gain we should do all that we do in light of God and His will. “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” More than just superstitious words that we say, we should truly acknowledge that our future plans are contingent on them being the Lord’s will.
Beyond all this, we need to understand the big picture of what God is doing to make sure that our lives fit into His purposes. God actually has an eternal plan for all of history and is working it out piece by piece according to that plan. He is sovereignly and actively involved in what occurs in this world. He is working despite and through what people do. Romans 8:28-30 talks about this in relation to our salvation.
Romans 8:28-30 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
Ephesians 1:3-10 talks about this in relation to God’s eternal plan of predestination by which He adopted us as His children. It also talks about Him working out all things for His purposes to sum up all thing in heaven and earth in Christ.
Ephesians 1:3-10 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 10 with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him
Ephesians 3:8-12 talks about some of God’s now-being-revealed hidden eternal purposes. He was going to bring the gospel not just to Israel but to the whole world.
Ephesians 3:8-12 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; 10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. (cf. also 1 Peter 1)
Seeing all that in the big picture we also need to see how our lives fit into His purposes and plan individually. To do that we need to look for passages like the great commission and ones speaking about His purposes for the church, our families, and our lives. We do not have time to do all that right now, but it is something that we ought to each carefully study to understand and apply before we make decisions about the direction of our lives. We need to make sure that what we pursue in our lives is building His kingdom and working towards His purposes. In so doing, we can make plans in line with His purposes for us. Then, like Paul we can remain flexible as He guides us in His perfect way and redirects us.
Truth in Connection: As we connect this to our lives, we need to be careful that we do not do the opposite and become like the man in the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12:18-21.
Luke 12:18-21 “Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”‘ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ 21 “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
This is what the world does. They live apart from God and ignore Him. Instead of that foolishness we need to recognize that it is God’s council, God’s purposes, and God’s plans which will come about in the end. If we are wise we will recognize this and live accordingly.
This all starts with recognizing that we are sinners. We are the reason that this world is full of death, destruction, pain, and misery. It is our sin. We deserve God’s judgment for disobeying Him and ruining His good creation. And we will receive it unless we turn to Him for His way of forgiveness and salvation. Jesus alone can pay our penalty and bring us forgiveness. That is what He did on the cross. Turn to Him. Trust Him as your Lord and Savior. Then, in your new life in Jesus pursue His good and perfect purpose for your life.
For the rest of us have who have already trusted in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, may we not go back to living in our foolishness whereby we lived for ourselves. May we not make our plans regardless of God. May we joyously and thankfully live for His good and perfect purposes for our lives. May we seek to understand them better through His Word. May we help each other in carrying them out. May we be flexible when He adjusts and changes our plans to His perfect one. For truly, “Many plans are in a man’s heart, But the counsel of the LORD will stand.”
As we all live this way, may we daily see our need for God’s wisdom. May we daily pray to God earnestly for it. May we daily seek it in His Word. May we daily follow Jesus in obedience.
Conclusion
If you have any questions on any of this or want help in coming to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior please come talk with us. We are available. Let’s pray.
© 2025, Kevin A. Dodge, All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB),Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org
English (US) · 