PROVERBS ON PLANS

August 18, 2019
Good morning. We’re studying the proverbs this summer, so if you have your Bible, turn to Proverbs. We have been studying this book so that we can grow in grow in wisdom. And by wisdom, I do not mean data or information. Wisdom is the ability to skillfully navigate a complex world. The Proverbs give us a compelling way to handle all sorts of issues. This morning we are going to talk about how to make wise decisions. How do we plan for the future? Let’s look at a few verses and then we’ll pray.
When did you become an adult? If you’re not an adult yet, when will you become an adult? Does it happen overnight? Or does it slowly happen over the course of a year (or several years)? Previous generations had clear markers for becoming an adult. You got married, found a job, & bought a house. When you reached a few of these major life goals, you were safely in the adult world. 
The threshold into adult life is a lot more confusing these days. Those same markers don’t seem to apply anymore. Many people are delaying marriage. There are more opportunities to extend education. Finding and settling into a career is trickier than ever. And not many 20somethings are itching to buy a home in this market – especially when they only plan on living here for a few years. The road into adulthood is a lot trickier these days. This is not because Millennials are less resilient than former generations. It is because our world is drastically different. (The pathway has changed). 
Our world has been flooded with options. Think about the difference of finding a spouse. If you grew up in a small town in the 60s, you had 3-4 legitimate options. You picked the best one, got married, & started building a life. But now, you have access to millionsof potential spouses through the Internet. Surely your soul mate is out there. To say yes to one girl is to say no to millions of others. That’s a lot of pressure. 
Think about finding a job. In the past, you trained for a handful of available career options and took whatever work was available (and that was only if you weren’t fighting a war). You played the hand you were dealt and made the most of it. The landscape is different these days. In my experience working with college-age students, there is a tremendous amount of pressure to find a career that is satisfying and fulfilling. And there are endless possibilities. I met with one student who had made a list of over50 potential careers he could pursue. Students are no longer dealt a hand of cards; they’re given the entire deck. Do anything you want...but chose wisely because you only get 1 shot.That’s a lot of pressure. 
We live in a world that is flooded with opportunity. And as incredible as that is, it has made it far more difficult to make a decision. Have you ever thought about the meaning of the word decide? It comes from a Latin word that means “to kill, or cut off.” Homicide. Suicide. Genocide. Decide. To make a decision is to kill every other viable option. If you don’t have any options, decisions are easy. But if you have to pick between 60 potential careers, you need to be ruthless to make a decision. It’s not easy to make wise decisions in this environment. And I’m not simply talking to Emerging Adults; I’m talking to everyone. If you are approaching retirement, you have more options than ever. If you are in your 40s or 50s, you have the option to switch careers. We have more options – and more decisions – than ever. We’re not casually walking in a yellow wood like Robert Frost, reflecting on whether to take the road less traveled anymore. We’re flying by on a major interstate with exit ramps all over the place and we need to make quick decisions that will change the outcome of our life. The pressure is immense. 
Is it possible to make good decisions in a world that is flooded with options? Yes. But we need wisdom. The church of Jesus can boldly move into the future without fear of failure. We do not need to cower in anxiety, or aimlessly fumble our way through life. God wants us to mature into the type of people that can confidently make good decisions. The Proverbs are loaded with wisdom to help us think about decision-making. And so I want to give you the outline this morning. Here are 3 points from the Proverbs to help us think about making a plan. (My understanding of Pr. has transformed. I used to think it was random nuggets of wisdom. I would pick out proverbs like candy at the candy barrel. I didn’t think I was taking them out of context because there is no context. Yes there is. The entire book is the context. If you read through it, you can see a narrative).
1. God shapes the planner.
2. We shape the plan.
3. God shapes the path.
If you have set your heart on pursuing Jesus, you can confidently make a good decision. Because, as the text says, wisdom has come into your heart, and knowledge into your soul. You will have the character and discernment to pick the right path for your life. 
I wonder if the main reason we become paralyzed by a particular decision is because we are immature. We don’t want this relationship with Jesus. We don’t want grow up in him. We want God to tell us every little thing we should be doing, when he offers us wisdomto choose well. (What we want is magic and not God). I heard this example from Tim Keller, but I think it’s brilliant. If you have little kids, this will be easy to imagine, but let’s say your five-year-old child comes up to you this afternoon and asks to go outside and play. The weather is nice, dinner will be ready in about 30 minutes, so you gladly tell him that yes, he can go out and play. That is a healthy interaction. But let’s say that you just dropped your child off at college. He’s now 20 years old. Later this afternoon you get a call from him and he says, “Hey mom, I just wanted to let you know that some guys in my dorm are going to throw the Frisbee on the quad. Can I go?” What would you say? Would you be proud of your son or worried? Hopefully by that point in his life the wisdom has been internalized. Hopefully he can joyfully navigate the freedom of college within the boundaries that you taught them. 
Some of us want very clear answers for every little decision we need to make. But if you look in the NT and throughout church history, it doesn’t seem like God typically operates that way. Instead, he wants us to joyfully walk with him. He wants you to grow in maturity. And out of that relationship, the Spirit will guide us. And so as you think about making a decision, are you trying to bypass the most important part (the internalizing of wisdom)? Are you allowing God to shape you? If your heart is set on Jesus, and you have the Spirit of God, you can’t lose. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your way, acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight.  
And so, that is the first point. God shapes the planner. But we still have to make decisions. A relationship with Jesus doesn’t give us permission to sit back and let life pass us by. No, He gives us wisdom to actively navigate the slew of decisions that come our way. With God’s wisdom, we can skillfully map out a plan. This is the second point in our outline. God shapes the planner, but we shape the plan. According to the Proverbs, there are at least 3 things you can do to help form a godly plan. 
This reality should encourage every soul in the room. If you are on the brink of a decision, you can make it with confidence. Open doors, make phone calls, test the waters. See where God might be leading you. Here’s the encouraging part: if he doesn’t want you to go where you planned to go, he will close the door. He will redirect your steps. God shapes the path.
But this is an encouraging reminder to the people whose path has been reshaped. Youdidmake a good plan. You werecertainit was God’s will for you to be married by now. You knew God was leading you to that career or house. It was good and wise, but the door was slammed in your face. You were detoured into the wilderness. That’s a hard place to be. Detours are miserable. This weekend I was traveling from Charlotte to Winston Salem with my family. We were enjoying a great car ride together (5 kids in the car, this is rare). Everything was great. But as we were traveling down I40, we saw those ominous brake lights. One hour later, we had traveled a five miles. I was a miserable person at the end of that five-mile stretch. The day way great, but traffic jams are incredibly frustrating. Some of you have a good and wise plan for your life, but the brake lights came on. Maybe you came to a dead end. God shaped a different path. And you’re wondering, how can I ever move forward? (Can you even trust God anymore?) I want to remind you that God is doing something that you cannot see. If you can accept it, God is taking you to a better place, and teaching you to desire him more. (He’s shaping your heart as he shapes your path).
But be encouraged. God never gets the path wrong. If he sent you into the desert, he has a purpose. If he slammed the door, he has a purpose. Trust in him. He is calling you into a deeper relationship. He has something better than you could have ever imagined.
Paul was crushed and disappointed when he went to Troas. But two incredible things happened. First, Paul met Luke there. Luke was a good doctor, so Paul brought him along. But it turned out that Luke was pretty good at writing. Would we have the gospel of Luke & Acts if Paul didn’t get detoured? I doubt it. Second, Paul received the famous Macedonian call when he was in Troas. He got on a boat and went into Europe. This is how the gospel was introduced to the Western world. Friends, our spiritual heritage can be traced back to Paul’s painful detour.
2 Corinthians 2:12–16
[12] When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, [13] my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.
[14] But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. [15] For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, [16] to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?