Today's Scripture Reading (August 12, 2025): Psalm 25
It is an ancient proverb. "Man
plans and God laughs." The proverb is thought to have originated with the Jewish
Talmud, a commentary on the Jewish oral traditions and teachings. The phrase
often points toward the sometimes futility of our plans. We plan, but those
plans frequently have to be amended. I am much closer to the end of my career
than the beginning. And I had several plans, but those plans have changed over
the years. Michael Smerconish of CNN has commented that we suffer from a Crisis
of Nostalgia. If we are asked when the world was great, the answer is often
whenever we were in our teens; that is the best era of our lives. And I have to
admit that I agree. But that just might be because those were the days when our
plans were still in development. Nothing had to be adjusted; everything was
still in front of us. Our plans still had life, regardless of how futile those
plans might end up being.
The Prophet is writing in Isaiah
during the Babylonian Exile. He declares that God has revealed this to his
creation: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways … As the
heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than
your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah
55:8-9). The Prophet is writing in a time when the plans of Israel had
collapsed. Living in Babylon and praying down by a foreign river was not part
of the plan for anyone in Israel, yet this was where the nation lived. If you
weren't in Babylon, then you were in Egypt, but that wasn't part of the plan
either. And so, Isaiah reminds the people that "man plans and God laughs."
His plans are not our plans.
I read an article recently that was based on this proverb,
and the article pointed toward Jeremiah's famous thought, included in a letter
that he wrote to the Babylonian exiles. In that letter, Jeremiah wrote, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give
you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11). Jeremiah hears the word of God
correctly; he has a plan. However, it wasn't a short-term plan. The people who
received Jeremiah's letter and this promise were going to spend the rest of
their lives in exile. It was their children and grandchildren who would have
the opportunity to return to Jerusalem and the Promised Land. And yet, God
still had a plan for everyone.
The Psalmist requests that God teach
him His ways and lead him to His paths. The Psalmist's prayer is that God would
rescue him, and us, from our plans by placing His plans in us. That God would
take our journey and lead us down His path. And if we let Him, He will do
precisely that.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 26 & 27
No comments:
Post a Comment