The Course Of Man

"A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps."

Isn’t it interesting how much our heart does for us?  As a physical organ it pumps life sustaining blood throughout our body.  As a spiritual component to the human life it is the wellspring for dreams, goals and vision.  Nothing has been accomplished in the life of anyone that was not initiated in the heart.

Elsewhere in Proverbs is stated, “… For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” implying that while a person’s thoughts may be controlled by the brain, a person’s motives are indeed controlled by the heart.  The darkness in an evil person is found in the heart, not in the brain.  Matthew 15:18 expounds on this truth: “But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, these things defile a person.”

So if our heart plans out our way and our heart is the seedbed of that which defiles us, how do we do anything good?  How do we do anything worthwhile?  The answer is in the details.  As the verse states, “… the Lord directs his steps.”  It is the Lord who determines the details.  A man’s heart may plan a course, but the ultimate route is dependent on a Sovereign God.

To be clear, this is not intended to say that all our evil is the responsibility of the Lord.  I would not suggest that the Lord is directing steps of unrighteousness.  However, when one is in a course of unrighteousness who is it that directs that person out of their course?  When a person is hell bent on doing evil and destroying, who is it that ends their course?  There must be only One.  If the heart of man is the origin of defilement, how can man say that he changed his heart?  It is the Lord who changes hearts.

Here is the beautiful thing - once a man’s heart has been given to the Lord then both his way planned and the steps taken are directed by the Lord.  That is the reason why a person saved says “Lord, I give you my heart.”  A heart of a person truly dedicated to the Lord produces a powerful life with eternal significance and miraculous effect on the world around them.

Proverbs 16:9