I read through Proverbs 16 today and there were so many verses that made me think of the many graduates in my life right now. As I came to several points in this passage, I was compelled to stop and pray.
v. 1 - The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. Father, give these kiddos the right answer, the one from you. May their hearts be fertile ground for growing the answers from you.
v. 2 -All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the Lord weighs the motives. Lord, these young people are going to face a myriad of decisions now and they will be tempted to justify some wrong ones. Remind them that You are looking at their hearts.
v. 3 -Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established. This oft-quoted verse means something different than we might think at first glance, at least it seems so to me. “Commit your work to the Lord” is pretty straightforward-the first verb, commit, is a word that, in Hebrew, literally means “to roll.” The idea is that we completely give something over to God in dependence upon Him. When we “commit” our work to the Lord, we offer everything we do completely to Him. It’s the word “plans” that is pivotal in its meaning. In Hebrew, this word means our thoughts, intentions and purposes. This verse is telling us that once we “roll” everything onto the Lord, He then directs and makes secure the intents and purposes of our hearts. Rather than interpreting this verse to mean that we are assured of personal success (regardless of what it may be!) if we will just “dedicate” it to God, this is telling us that committing our ways to the Lord literally changes the thoughts and purposes of our heart. That is a huge pivot! Father, grant these new graduates - and we, the adults in their lives- the grace to submit our hopes and dreams and desires to YOU. Help us all to desire what YOU want so that You can transform the purposes of our hearts and make our steps steady, secure, firm, established. THAT is what success looks like!