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In today’s reading, we encountered a passage I quote often—Proverbs 16:9. It’s a reminder to me that we can have all the best-laid plans, but at the end of the day it is the Lord who determines the success of them.

Throughout chapter 16, I noticed a “deeper” or connecting truth today. Solomon wrote in verse 19,

It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly...

We absolutely recognize God’s power. That’s key! And if we’re honest with ourselves, we recognize our propensity to want control of our outcomes. Here’s the question I’m prompted to ask as I read today:

Can one be truly surrendered to the sovereignty of God if their heart is not humble?

Chapter 17 makes me think of someone—could be me… has been me—who acts according to their heart rather than responding with a surrendered will to the Lord’s heart. The chapter begins with,

Better is a dry morsel and quietness with it than a house full of feasting with strife.

It would be better that a person remain silent and let a situation play out rather than pursuing their own desires and/or outcomes. The context makes it clear that a person who acts contrary is a fool and runs the risk of producing fools out of those who follow him.

In chapter 18, we see the importance of caring more about what the Lord thinks rather than what the crowd thinks. The opinions of evil or misaligned people can cause much harm, whereas the counsel of the Lord brings the greatest protection. That’s verse 10,

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runs into it and is safe.

This morning verse 22 took on a whole new level of meaning for me. Solomon wrote,

He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.

If you are married to a fellow Christ follower, what a blessing for you! They are in your life to make sure you take shelter in the tower. I have a godly wife. Sometimes I don’t stop to take in the importance of her presence in my life. I can talk, share, even vent to her, because I know that she is, most of the time, going to encourage me to stay on the correct and righteous path that leads to the tower. And the same, hopefully, can be said of me for her. It’s part of our tower system.

Takeaway: Meditate on the ways of the Lord and surrender daily to His direction. That, and nothing else, is the best guarantee of a truly godly outcome.