Proverbwise

It’s hard to believe that yesterday I ran into these two characters at the intersection of Hollywood Blvd. and Sunset Lane in an unfamiliar imaginary land, but by bedtime I was at home in NJ, sleeping soundly in my own bed. 

We flew out of Orlando last night, leaving behind high temperatures in the mid-sixties, a typical January afternoon in Florida, and landed in Philadelphia to experience the reality of a cold, blustery winter night with temperatures plunging into the low twenties. We departed the fantasy world of Walt Disney’s Hollywood Studios via tram and foot travel, leaving behind our Starspeeder 1000 space vehicle. In this future world, we had raced through the galaxy travelling faster than the speed of light as we encountered enemy aliens and characters such as Boba Fett and Darth Vader. Then we hopped onboard a Southwest 737 jet, traveling an average of  540 miles per hour to go home to the real world in just two and a half hours. Too bad we couldn’t have caught a ride on home on the Starspeeder 1000. It would have saved a lot of time!

We created our own future, a life of ease, at Epcot’s Future World, but later we re-entered our own world, as we hauled heavy suitcases from the rental car to the luggage check-in counter inside the airport. Of course, in “fake-city”, as I call Orlando, we made time for a visit and photo shoot with our good friend, Mickey Mouse, and his cohorts, Minnie and Goofy. We left this magical world, arriving at home exhausted, but greeted with yelps, tail wagging, and slobbery kisses by our true little friends, pug puppy brothers, Gibson and Fender.

As we strolled through the parks I was challenged by the inspiring, Dream Builder quotes, or proverbs, if you will, by Walt Disney. One of my favorites was this: “The way to get started is to quit talking and start doing.” Imagination and dreaming are good things, wonderful gifts from God. Humans are unique in their ability to envision the future, plan their lives and construct the steps to accomplish their goals. The life and world of Walt Disney started with an idea that was talked about, developed through determination, and accomplished through team work and a lifetime commitment to the task.

What do you dream about? What do you want to accomplish in your life? Has God placed an idea in your heart, a passion for His Kingdom? Have you been praying for God to use your life in a specific way? Is there something that you believe He wants to complete in you and accomplish through you? To move from imaginary to actuality includes both planning and action. My father-in-law used to quote a little proverb (not a biblical quote, but the message rings true), reminding me that God will accomplish His plan, but He expects me to take some action as well. We need to pray always, but we also need to “put some shoe-leather to our prayers”, especially when Scripture clearly tells us what we should do.

One good example would be the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20. We don’t need to pray about whether or not we should share the Gospel message or make disciples. We just need to do it! We may need to ask God to give us boldness or the right words to say. We may need to study and learn how to approach people with differing worldviews. But at some point, we just need to speak up and do what God has commanded us to do. It can be time consuming, inconvenient, intimidating, and sometimes just hard work. Another Walt Disney Dream Builder “proverb” confirms this thought. “Get a good idea, and stay with it. Dog it, and stay with it until it’s done, and done right.” If God gives us something to do, then it’s definitely a good idea and He intends us to be faithful in doing it until it’s done and done right. “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

A proverb is just “a short popular saying…that expresses effectively some commonplace truth…” (Dictionary.com) whereas a Biblical proverb is “a profound saying, maxim, or oracular utterance requiring interpretation.” We can learn a lot from proverbial statements made by successful people, as long as they do not contradict God’s Word. But more important, we should seek wisdom from the Bible which is the inspired Word. So today, as you dream dreams, make plans, and work hard to accomplish great things in your life remember to seek Biblical wisdom and apply these principles from the Book of Proverbs (NASB):

• Without consultation, plans are frustrated, but with many counselors they succeed. – Proverbs 15:22
• The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
  All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the Lord weighs the motives.
  Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established. – Proverbs 16:1-3
• The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. – Proverbs 16:9
• Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the counsel of the Lord will stand. – Proverbs 19:21
• The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty. – Proverbs 21:5

Our dreams and plans are somewhat like the warm days of summer (or the comfortable, short sleeve January days in Florida). We relish the joy of the warm sand between our toes, the bright sunshine reaching out to touch our faces, and the balmy starlit evenings to light our pathway. Making our dreams come true, however, is more like the wake-up call we received when we stepped outside of the Philadelphia airport last night as we returned home from Orlando. There is truly a reality check between fantasy and reality. For those of us who are seeking wisdom (Proverbs 8:18-19) and desiring true success (Joshua 1:8), we need to be certain that our aspirations are from God and for His glory. We can determine whether or not our goals are God-given through considering and applying the principles stated in Proverbs and examples given in Scripture.

Today as you make plans, pursue dreams, and seek to accomplish your goals, three distinct principles are clearly and consistently repeated throughout the Book of Proverbs:

1. Seek counsel from the Lord. Commit your works to Him. Trust in Him with all your heart. Don’t lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight (Proverbs 3:5-6) Throughout the Bible, there is a charge to seek the Lord and to trust Him. It is woven into the narrative of God’s Word and applicable to every situation. From Moses to Joshua, Gideon to Daniel, Peter to Paul, we see men and women who prayed and asked God to show them the way to go. “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in Him, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord…and He will do it.” (Psalm 37:3-5). If any of you lack wisdom…ask of God, and He will give it to you! (James 1:5)
2. Seek counsel from wise people. Consider those who are older, more mature in their walk of faith, whose lives are consistent examples of wisdom lived out. Seek counsel from those who know the field of work or type of plan that you are pursuing. We can all learn from many people. If you are looking at a ministry, then talk to others who have experience in that type of ministry. If you are looking at a career field, find someone who has been successful in that field. Jethro, a Midianite priest, was the father-in-law of Moses, who God had called to lead His people. Jethro recognized that Moses was overworked. Moses was trying to govern the people all by himself. Jethro said to his son-in-law, “This is not good!”, and then proceeded to share with him some excellent advice and a plan to accomplish what God had called him to do. Moses wisely listened to his father-in-law’s good counsel, giving us a great example of humility and teach-ability! (Exodus 18:13-25)
3. Finally, be sure to count the cost. Proceed with caution. Consider the effects of pursuing your goal. Ask hard questions. How will this affect your family, your personal well-being, and your financial situation? What is the eternal value of the pursuit of this goal? Will this draw you closer to God or will it drive you away from God? Will it take time from Him and other ministries He has given? Will it consume all of your energy or all of your time? Jesus was followed by the crowds who wanted to see His miracles or needed healing. Some desired to follow Him, to be one of His disciples, but He knew their hearts and their level of commitment. He turned to them and said to them,

If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.  Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.  For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?  Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?  Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. (Luke 14:26-33)

My prayer today for you and for me is this: As we pursue our dreams and plans may we we first pray and ask for God’s wisdom and guidance in every endeavor. I pray that we will practice humility by being teachable, as was Moses, that we will be willing to listen to the wisdom, knowledge and caution provided by those who know more than we do. Finally, I pray that we will be wise enough to consider the costs (Luke 14:26-33) instead of foolishly and hastily jumping to trust in our own understanding or to act on our own agenda. If we do these three things, we can be confident that God will give us wisdom, direct our steps, and grant us “good success”.