And your thoughts will be established. (Proverbs 16:3 NKJV)
I read this recently and it blew my mind (literally, my mind exploded - took me like 45 seconds to clean it all up…)! I love this translation, because it gets right to the heart of my problem… Some other translations say “plans” instead of “thoughts”, but where do our plans come from anyway, if not our thoughts?
I have a tendency to try and work on my thought life and get it squared away so that my actions (or works) will be worthy of committing to the Lord….as if any of my works could ever be worthy of His Holiness, Mercy, and Grace! But as I thought about this I realized that I can commit my works to Him, recognizing that, while they may not be worthy of Him, they can still be for Him. If I’m performing my tasks “as to the Lord”, my focus is on Him as well, which means my thoughts can now be “established” (i.e. settled, fixed, proven) in Him.
For me, this is a game-changer! Instead of battling my thought-life constantly, I need turn this thing on it's head and follow Paul’s advice in his letter to the Colossians:
And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men (Colossians 3:23)
And yes, he says “whatever you do” – whether you are singing or dancing; digging a ditch or working at a computer; in an executive board meeting or shoveling manure (wait, those last two might be synonymous…) – commit your works to the Lord!
So I can commit whatever I’m doing to the Lord, and do it for His Glory – knowing that He doesn’t need my works; knowing that my works can never be worthy of His Greatness; knowing that I am just a small piece in the puzzle – yet still I do it for Him. And in turn, He promises that whenever I do this, my thoughts – my plans – will be established.
I think it’s time we all get to work!