1 To humans belong the plans of the heart,     but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.2 All a person’s ways seem pure to them,     but motives are weighed by the Lord.3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do,     and he will establish your plans.4 The Lord works out everything to its proper end—     even the wicked for a day of disaster.5 The Lord detests all the proud of heart.     Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.…9 In their hearts humans plan their course,     but the Lord establishes their steps.REFLECTIONSWritten by James DavidsonIt’s good to make godly plans but we should always remember that they may never come about (verses 1 & 9). God may have other plans and he is in control. We can rejoice in this because God is good and his plans are always better than ours. For example, this year we planned evangelistic events as part of the regional 2020 mission but God had other plans. Due to COVID we couldn’t put our plans into action. But we can rejoice because we can trust that God is working through our present circumstances in far better ways than we could imagine. One example – my mum is now watching my sermons and kids’ talks regularly!But we can deceive ourselves sometimes, verse 2. We think we are acting out of pure motives but God sees otherwise. As the apostle Paul wrote: ‘My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.’ (1 Corinthians 4:4) Hence, with David, we pray, ‘But who can discern their hidden errors? Forgive my hidden faults.’ (Psalm 19:12) And pray that God will reveal our true motives to us and purify them.Literally verse 3 says, ‘Roll to the LORD, whatever you do…’ This means to ask God for wisdom in making our plans and to allow his word to guide us as we make them. When we do this God promises to make our efforts useful in his purposes. It often troubles me that so many people will end up in Hell. It should trouble me. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because it was going to be judged (Luke 19:41-44). But the proverb of verse 4 tells me that even the judgement of the wicked is part of God’s good purposes for his world. Paul makes the same point in Romans 9:21-24. ABOUT THE AUTHORJames is an assistant minister with our Bossley Park Morning Church.