“Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.”
The Path
This proverb pairs human counsel, hear counsel, and receive instruction, with a striking claim about ultimate authority: many devices in a man’s heart, nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand. Human planning genuinely matters, and yet it remains subject to a higher, more ultimate counsel that alone actually stands regardless.
This offers a needed balance for this whole movement’s exploration of seeking wisdom and counsel. Human counsellors, multitude and safety, genuinely matter, day twelve and thirteen have both insisted. And yet this proverb reminds that ultimate direction belongs to the LORD’s own counsel, which stands, regardless of however many human devices are also genuinely at work.
This is not a reason to neglect human counsel, which this same proverb has just instructed you to hear and receive. It is a reason to hold even the best human counsel with appropriate humility, trusting that beneath and beyond it, the LORD’s own counsel is the actual, ultimate determinant of what will genuinely stand.
Whatever counsel you have gathered, human and genuinely wise, hold it today alongside this larger trust, that the counsel of the LORD, ultimately, is what shall stand, regardless of the many devices, yours and others’, also genuinely present in this decision. Seek human counsel earnestly, and trust his counsel ultimately.
Walk the Path
- Gather human counsel earnestly today, following this proverb’s clear instruction.
- Hold that counsel with appropriate humility, trusting the LORD’s own counsel ultimately.
- Release anxiety over any device or plan that may not ultimately stand, trusting his counsel instead.
Prayer
Lord, I hear counsel and receive instruction, and I also trust that your counsel, ultimately, is what shall stand, above my own many devices and even the best human counsel. Amen.
Carry this today
Human counsel genuinely matters. The LORD’s counsel is what ultimately stands.