Proverbs 16:3 - Dependence Upon God Yields Success.

Proverbs 16:3: Dependence Upon God Yields Success.

CONTENT; What's in the verse; Translations; Paraphrase; Word 
Study:  

Prov 16:3 (KJV)  Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy 
thoughts shall be established. 

Prov 16:3 (NCV)  Depend on the LORD in whatever you do, and your 
plans will succeed. 

CONTEXT; What's around the verse; Overview; Topic:

The Proverbs of Solomon  (10:1-22:16)
The major collection attributed to Solomon  (10:1-22:16)
Contrast the Upright and the Wicked

CROSS REFERENCES; What's in verses elsewhere.

Psalm 37:4-5 (KJV)  Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he 
shall give thee the desires of thine heart. [5] Commit thy way unto 
the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.  

Psalm 55:22 (KJV)  Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall 
sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.  

1 Peter 5:7 (KJV)  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth 
for you.  

Philip. 4:6 (KJV)  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by 
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made 
known unto God.  

COMMENTARY / APPLICATION: Moving From The Head To The Heart
What is God teaching here? What does it teach about Jesus?

For our plans to succeed, we must depend on the Lord.... The verb 
"commit" is literally "roll".... It portrays complete dependence on God. 
This would be accomplished with a spirit of humility and by means of 
a diligent season of prayer; but the plan also must have God's 
approval. [Expositors Bible Commentary] 

When a man recognizes his own need and turns to the Lord for 
guidance and help in every act and decision, then the powers of heaven 
come to his aid and enable him to carry out the decisions reached 
under the influence of the Holy Spirit. [SDA Commentary] 

There are different ways to fail to commit whatever we do to the 
Lord. Some people commit their work only superficially. They say the 
project is being done for the Lord, but in reality they are doing it for 
themselves. Others give God temporary control of their interests, only to 
take control back the moment things stop going the way they expect. 
Still others commit a task fully to the Lord, but put forth no effort 
themselves, and then they wonder why they do not succeed. We must maintain a 
delicate balance: trusting God as if everything depended on him, while 
working as if everything depended on us. Think of a specific effort in 
which you are involved right now. Have you committed it to the Lord? 
[Life Application SB] 

When we want God's direction, there are no halfway measures. 
There will be times when we slip back, stumble and sin. These times 
grow fewer as we seek and gain His direction. Progress comes when we 
place our full confidence, our will and intellect, in the Lord.  Does 
this mean God wants us to stop thinking, stop being individuals, 
become a robot? God forbid!  He doesn't expect us to short circuit our 
own mind.  He just tells us not to go to that understanding with the 
wrong assumptions.  It is simple.  Place your confidence in God, 
wholly, on a matter. (To do so, you will have to pray and search His 
Word to find out what it has to say on that matter.) This is putting 
our thoughts before the Lord and His Word. As we do this, He will 
give us the direction we need.  Decide today to pay due respect to 
God in all that is done.  He will direct decisions, judgments, and 
actions.  And we can count on growing in our walk with Him. [In His Time; 
Walk With Wisdom]  

The natural inclination in Christian living is to act on the 
impulse of a good idea. Not every good idea is from God. Sometimes good 
ideas get in the way of God ideas.  
Where does your inspiration come from? The vision of the 
transfigured Christ inspired Peter: "O Lord, it is good for us to be here. If 
you wish, I will put up three shelters - one for you, one for Moses 
and one for Elijah" (Matthew 17:4). Our natural impulse is to do 
something good for God and suggest it to Him.  
The tendency of the well-meaning person is to prepare a plan to 
do some good idea, and then pray, "Jesus, this is my plan. It is a 
good plan. It hurts no one, and I want it to please You. Lord, please 
bless my plan." It is plan, then pray.  
So many of our ideas are impetuous. They are not what the Lord 
wants to do. They do not resemble in any way the things which concern 
Him. We have good ideas, but they are not God ideas. His agenda and 
our agenda conflict. We want to build Him a shelter but that is not 
what He wants.... When Peter, James, and John heard the voice of the 
Lord . . . they abandoned their inventive-but-self-made idea. The 
presence of the Lord magnified, and His holiness brought them to their 
senses. Jesus gained their attention, not by subduing them with a stern 
scolding, but by magnifying His presence until all the genius of their 
human ideas was bleached out by His refulgent face. 
When they abandoned their good idea and fell facedown before the 
Lord, He could work with them again.... 
When you and I abandon our good idea and fall to our face before 
me Lord, then He will come and touch us, too. When we pursue our 
own plan He cannot use us. We must abandon our good idea and fall 
facedown before Him. Then He will be able to use us again. Then He will 
reveal what He is doing - a God idea.... It is pray, then plan. Through 
prayer, Jesus instructs of His plan, a God idea. 
Prayer removes the impulse of the good idea, the good idea born 
of human ingenuity but not of God. Pray, then plan. It is the habit 
of the surrendered saint. (Walking with Christ in the Details of 
Life by Patrick M. Morley) [Inspirational SB re Mat.13:12] 

Dear Child, I watch you laboring and fretting and anxiously 
striving to achieve things for me and my kingdom.  Hear me.  Your work is 
not my primary concern.  Your work is now, has always been, and 
always will be secondary to your relationship with me. What you do will 
flow out of your relationship with me as irrigation streams flow out 
of a deep, clear, powerful river.  The river (the relationship) 
will set your motives and supply your strength.  Then your work will 
flow forth to honor me.  Any time you allow your work to come ahead 
of your relationship with me, you risk working against me and my 
purposes. Draw near to me and rest.  Seek my will at every small turn.  
Listen for my voice.  Be filled with my Spirit.  Then work with joy and 
abandon! The Source of your power, God [PostCards from Heaven by Claire 
Cloninger] 

The best position to be in is as close to God as you can get, 
right smack dab in the center of his will... You take care of His 
business and He will take care of yours.  Michelle McKinney Hammond 

See that what thou doest is commanded; and then begin, continue, 
and end all in his name. (Adam Clarke Commentary)