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Today, we're reading Proverbs 17 through 21, but we're going to be focusing on chapter 21,

answering the question, can we actually make plans?

The proverb begins by discussing how the Lord turns the heart of a king wherever he wishes,

and that every way seems right in a man's heart.

So, are we as God's people autonomous in our ability to plan?

Proverbs 21, 1 through 2 reads in the ESV,

The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord.

He turns it wherever he will.

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.

In short, verse 1 is talking about God's providence over the leaders of nations.

The actions of an individual affect themselves and those who are nearby in close

proximity, whereas the actions of a king affect the entirety of a nation. And God is sovereign

over the fate of such a nation. Now verse two zooms back out. Verse one is zooming in on specifically

the leaders of nations. Verse two is leveling the playing field. The hearts of all

men, the hearts of all people are inclined to scream, I'm right or my way is best. I mean,

think about a time when you were convinced that you were right. I remember this one time I was

driving to an event at a venue I'd never been to before.

I had the address, typed it into Google Maps, and confidently set off.

And about halfway there, I had some traffic and decided I knew a better route.

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