March 2

Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail. — Prov 19:21 BSB

A person in their fleshly mind is always trying to find a way to avoid submitting fully to the gospel. They seek a way to avoid walking in self-denial, mortifying the flesh, and crucifying the “old man” with its passions and desires. They look for ways to indulge the flesh while still maintaining a sense of gospel freedom—to satisfy their carnal mind while holding onto a hope of eternal life.

But God says, “No, these two things cannot be combined; whoever lives with Christ must die with Christ; whoever reigns with Christ must suffer with Christ; whoever wears the crown must carry the cross.” No matter what schemes or plans a person devises, “the counsel of the Lord shall stand.” God’s sovereignty will bring to pass what He has decreed, and His purposes will stand despite the plans of human beings.

And for us, as children of God, this is a great mercy. Where would we be if all the devices in our hearts had succeeded? We would be in hell. Even since the Lord has quickened our souls, where would we be if He had allowed all our plans to succeed? Our hearts would be filled with pride, and we would have everything we could desire, indulging in temptations or possibly disgracing ourselves before the Church of God. Or, at best, we would be merely outwardly religious, while our hearts were spiritually dead before God.

It is a mercy, then, that God does not allow our plans to succeed but causes His counsel to prevail over the desires of our sinful nature. When we look back and trace the Lord’s dealings with us, we see that His kindness often came in the form of “blasting our gourds” and laying low our pride. It was His loving hand that swept away our worldly hopes, brought us to spiritual poverty, and led us through trials, sorrows, and afflictions. In these trials, we have found the Lord to be precious. Jacob experienced this too and blessed the Lord for leading him through all the difficulties of his life. Though his days had been few and filled with trouble, he could still see how the Lord had fed him all his life and brought him to a place of rest.