# 453 The Proverbs – ‘A manual for living’ (MSG). Proverbs 19 (2). Purpose in life.

As a young person I thought very little about my “purpose in life”. Life was a struggle in many ways, and just surviving some of the emotional turmoil seemed enough by itself. Then in my late teens, to my surprise, I discovered that there really was purpose in life and it revolved around a relationship with God through Jesus. From then on, I decided to seek God’s purpose for my life and He has revealed that it is concerning His plan for the people of all nations to come to know Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Over the years, He has privileged my wife and I with a small part in that grand plan for persons from every tribe and language and people and nation to become members of His eternal kingdom (Revelation 5:9). The particular people groups we have been involved with being Pakistanis, Afghans, Iranians and Cambodians.

Proverbs 19:21 says:  

Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
    but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

What a wonderful truth and having been a follower of Jesus for over 50 years, I can testify to its reality in our lives.

There are also similar verses in Proverbs such as:

To humans belong the plans of the heart,
    but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.  (16:1)

In their hearts humans plan their course,
    but the Lord establishes their steps.  (16:9)

And in the Psalms:

The Lord makes firm the steps
    of the one who delights in him;
²⁴ though he may stumble, he will not fall,
    for the Lord upholds him with his hand. (Psalm 27:23-24)

And Jeremiah:

¹¹ 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)

Goldsworthy comments: “God created us in his image and made us responsible, reasoning beings. This points to the ongoing tension in experience between the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of mankind. Wisdom is especially mindful of the task we have, to think through issues, make decisions and then bear the responsibility for the outcome. [Proverbs] reminds us that we must make well-considered plans while all the time [being conscious that] God is in control of all that happens.” (# 53)

Proverbs 19 also give us some helpful advice as how to live effectively and productively in this way, as follows:

⁸ The one who gets wisdom loves life;
    the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.

¹¹ A person’s wisdom yields patience;
    it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.

¹⁶ Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life,
    but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die.

²⁰ Listen to advice and accept discipline,
    and at the end you will be counted among the wise.

²³ The fear of the Lord leads to life;
    then one rests content, untouched by trouble.

Seek wisdom and understanding in everything you do, be patient and forgive, obey God’s will, listen to helpful advice and be willing to be corrected, and above all else, fear the Lord. Then as you walk in the ways of God, he will enable you to make wise decisions based on your love for Him and others, and you will find that He is working out his perfect plan. Paul puts it this way:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)

‘Worship’ here is referring to much more than just the music we sing in church, “Instead, it refers to the total abandoning of ourselves to [God’s] will. As we allow God to change our minds, he will make them like his mind.” (SU notes) Then as we wholeheartedly offer our lives to Him, we discover “God’s will. What God wants from the believer here and now. Good. That which leads to the spiritual and moral growth of the Christian. Pleasing. To God, not necessarily to us. Perfect.  No improvement can be made on the will of God.” (NIV Study Bible)

The motivation in obeying God being in view of God’s mercy, as revealed in the suffering and death of Jesus for our sins.