Proverbs 16:3 - How To Commit Your Works To The LORD.
Proverbs 16:3 - How To Commit Your Works To The LORD.
Proverbs 16:3 (NKJV) Commit your works to the LORD, And your
thoughts will be established.
Proverbs 16:3 (ESV) Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans
will be established.
Proverbs 16:3 (AMP) Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and
trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become
agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and
succeed.
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 Bible 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]
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]
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
Demonstrate your trust in Me by sitting quietly in My
Presence. Put aside all that is waiting to be done, and refuse to worry
about anything. This sacred time together strengthens you and prepares
you to face whatever the day will bring. By waiting with Me before
you begin the day's activities, you proclaim the reality of My
living Presence. This act of faith - waiting before working - is noted
in the spirit world, where your demonstration of trust weakens
principalities and powers of darkness.
The most effective way to resist evil is to draw near Me.
When you need to take action, I will guide you clearly through My
Spirit and My Word. The world is so complex and overstimulating that
you can easily lose your sense of direction. Doing countless
unnecessary activities will dissipate your energy. When you spend time with
Me, I restore your sense of direction. As you look to Me for
guidance, I enable you to do less but accomplish more. (Luke 12:22-26;
Ephesians 6:12 NKJV; Proverbs 16:3) [Jesus Calling by Sarah Young]
Do not be weighed down by the clutter in your life: lots of
little chores to do some time, in no particular order. If you focus too
much on these petty tasks, trying to get them all out of the way, you
will discover that they are endless. They can eat up as much time as
you devote to them.
Instead of trying to do all your chores at once, choose the
ones that need to be done today. Let the rest slip into the
background of your mind, so I can be in the forefront of your awareness.
Remember that your ultimate goal is living close to Me, being responsive
to My initiatives. I can communicate with you most readily when
your mind is uncluttered and turned toward Me. Seek My Face
continually throughout this day. Let My Presence bring order to your
thoughts, infusing Peace into your entire being. (Pro. 16:3; Mat. 6:33)
[Jesus Calling by Sarah Young]
ILLUSTRATION
How can your plans succeed? You need two things: prayer and
diligence. Prayer and diligence are like two sides of the same coin. You
pray as if it all depends on God, and you work as if it all depends
on you. Putting your whole effort into something feels so different
when you have prayed about it and God is empowering you in it.
Committing to the Lord whatever you do means saying, "God,
I'm committing to you another day, one day at a time. I want to be
healthier at the end of the day than I was when I got up this morning.
Please give me the strength to do my part in that." That's the pray
part. Proverbs 13:4 says, "The desires of the diligent are fully
satisfied." In other words, you've got to work. It takes faith, food,
fitness, focus, and friends. You eat right; you exercise. You focus your
thoughts on Scripture. You get enough sleep. You build community. That's
the diligence part.
Transformation is super-powered when you are diligent,
devoted, and dependent. [The Daniel Plan 365-Day Devotional]
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY:
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2009/20090113-2014.html
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2004/20040817-1150.html
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT:
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]
Seeking God Made Real: http://vimeo.com/31489782
Music Devotional On Christian Living:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcotY5K7T0c
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDY:
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Discover Bible Studies: http://studies.itiswritten.com/discover/
LINKS FOR PROPHECY SEMINARS:
Revelation Today by Pastor John Bradshaw:
https://revelationtoday.com/other-streams/
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
