A planned course

Here is a proverb that started my day this morning:

“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” ( Proverbs 16:9)

A podcast I was listening to yesterday made the following observation:

Our gifts give us our ability
Our anointing gives us our purpose
Our calling gives us our direction

A couple thoughts this morning on those. I have been studying the properties of gifts. God has gifted all of us with ability to think, dream, plan and counsel. If I am waiting for God to drop a complete version of all the details, I may be waiting a long time. The Proverb said “In his heart a man plans his course.” As I look at the call of Abraham, which was one of the great examples of gifting, anointing and calling, I find that God did not so much tell him where he was going. But God did tell him where not to stay. If I am stuck in a rut of tradition, I may be comfortable but not using the gifts at my disposal.

Going faster in the wrong direction is never the right answer. Choosing a path and pursuing it takes the direction of God. I am moving today from the present to the future. When God called Abraham, He told him to get out of his tent and try to count the stars. God then told him that it was a picture of Abraham’s offspring. That picture of the future guided Abraham’s entire life after that.

“Get out of your tent and look around” Good advice !