Committed Thoughts, Established Plans
- Elijah McSwain
- Jun 2
- 6 min read
5/17/2025
Elijah McSwain, Sr.
Proverbs 16:3 NKJV — Commit your works to the LORD, and your thoughts will be established.
Making plans is a fundamental part of life. The purpose of making plans involves developing a clear, concise, and comprehensive path toward achieving a goal. Humanly speaking, plans are important for providing a sense of direction, giving clarity for a vision, allows a person to prioritize the necessary time to focus on a goal, enhances the decision-making process, and helps a person keep track of progress. The outworking of a plan transitions a thought into constructed practical steps to reach a desired outcome. Planning is important. Without plans there is no sense of direction.
Thus, it is inevitably clear that a committed thought leads to an established plan.
This is the overarching theme of Proverbs 16:3. Joel Dorman warrants the notion, “Proverbs 16:3 encourages believers to entrust their endeavors to God, leading to the establishment of their plans. Work as if it all depends on you; rest because it all depends on God.” 1 As the context of this verse is analyzed, it is vital to remember that our work, thoughts or plans must align with the Lord’s will.
Surrender Your Thoughts To God
Solomon impressed upon his audience to commit your works to the Lord and your thoughts will be established. The word “works” articulates the notion that a person’s efforts and undertaking is the visible display of their thoughts or aspirations. Any objective that materializes in the mind pertaining to our course of action should be committed to the Lord. This of course, means things that are morally right, pure in thought, and just in the sight of God should be committed to Him. The linguistical usage of the term “commit” by Solomon means to roll over.
It is an expression of entrusting the Lord with our thoughts and works. It is an act of surrendering and yielding our ambitions to the power of God. Simply, it is an act of consulting the Lord in our affairs.
Rationale and reasoning involve a human element that should include the divine element of approaching God. Humanity should consult the Lord as He sees the entire trajectory or canvas of our planning in relation to our thoughts and works. The Lord is omniscient, and He knows the ins as well as the outs of our works. He is all-knowing. He sees every aspect of the process, even the challenges that an individual will face in the future. He has the solution already in place if people will seek Him for inclusion, direction, and guidance. Donald Fleming mentioned “a person may make plans, but God is the one who determines their outcome. He knows the person’s unseen motives and controls events according to His purposes. It is important, therefore, always to bring God into one’s planning.” 2
God is concerned with every element of our lives. He takes interest in our careers, academic pursuits, financial planning, ministry, investments, families, and much more. Thus, whatever we aspire to do in respect to any area of our lives, God should be involved. Proverbs 16:9 (NKJV) affirms “a man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.”
It is vital that God is in the equation when thoughts are developed, plans are made, and action is taken.
God graciously desires to direct our steps; thus, we should commit our ideas and works to Him. God’s people should surrender desires, goals, dreams, passions, initiatives, and motivating factors to Him. Trust in the Lord should be the means of our surrenderance when we formulate plans. This comes with the understanding that it is God who ultimately orchestrates the affairs of the believer’s life.
Total dependency upon Him is the strategy for meaningful, effective, and successful living.
Seeking the wisdom of God is the result of our acknowledgement of His involvement in our strategies, projects, and decisions. Solomon penned it this way in Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV), “trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Bruce Hurt imposed the thought “don't trust yourself...your unrenewed fleshly thinking is still just that, fleshly. And it does not seek to please God but to satisfy self. So, in discerning whether you are in God's will or not, be careful invoking your own understanding in the matter...what seems reasonable and logical thru temporal, human eyes, may be absolutely foolish when viewed through eternal eyes. So let us pray that we would be filled with knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” 3
Our creative thinking and reasoning should be placed under divine authority, and He will provide clarity in instructing us in the way that we should go. Reliance on God is summed up in this manner according to Psalm 32:8 (NKJV), “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.” As thoughts and works are committed to the leadership of God, it leads the establishment of a secured plan and path.
God Establishes Our Plans
Solomon closed out Proverbs 16:3 with the proclamation, God is the cause of plans being established. The word “established” insinuates something that is firmly secured, ordered, and determined. Committed works and thoughts that are agreeable with the parameters of His will are brought to pass. William MacDonald confirmed “man may plan his thoughts in advance, but the LORD is sovereign and overrules all man’s words for the accomplishment of His purposes. “Man proposes but God disposes.” Man goes to great length to plan his career, but the LORD alone determines whether these plans ever come to pass.” 4 Psalm 37:5 (NKJV) reveals “commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” It is pivotal to roll ever matter on to God.
If He has purposed our plans to be established, He will make it a concrete reality.
Max Anders implies “we cannot expect success in our plans unless we commit them, or roll them over on to, the Lord. God does not promise to bless every plan, but no plan can succeed without His blessing.” 5
There should not be an expectation of finding success or approval from God when we have not sought His consultation for our plans.
God’s involvement and management in our planning helps to keep us from having to seek Him later on for help to correct our mistakes. If He is consulted at the onset of our planning then we can avoid mistakes, errors, and pitfalls along the way. It is imperative to seek God initially in the brainstorming process so that missteps can be prevented. This course of action will yield to a smoother path being mapped out as we strive to hold firm to our endeavors. Giving way for God to take the lead brings forth success when plans are committed to Him.
The success behind every successful plan is of God.
Without His intervention, our plans will not amount to anything. Proverbs 16:1 (NKJV) states “the preparations of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.” Proverbs 19:21 (ESV) reaffirms this, “many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.”
God determines the outcome. He provides the answer. He finalizes the answer. His approval or disapproval of our intentions will be determined by His purpose.
Consequently, it is important to submit our logic and reasoning to God’s sovereignty, authority, and will. If God permits, then what we have planned will be established. With Him as the driving force behind our committed thoughts, those plans will be materialized. Our plans will move from a thought into an achievable goal under the execution of God. He executes our paths by placing us in the proper place at the proper time.
This is done on His terms and not ours.
Abiding by the terms of the Lord as opposed to following our own terms will ensure that the plans of God for our lives will be fulfilled. Hence, Proverbs 16:3 is a stark reminder to seek God’s face in every matter regarding life. The Lord has made everything for His purpose. He has given your life purpose, so commit your plan to His plan. Commit your thoughts to His thoughts. Commit your ways to His ways. The nature of surrendering our work to God allows for us to experience His providential care at work in molding our desires to reflect and mirror His purpose.
Committed thoughts lead to established plans.
Plans that fit within God’s purpose will be divinely established and brought to pass.
Resources
Joel Dorman. (2020). Finding the Path of Blessing (Proverbs 16:3). Life Meets Theology. https://lifemeetstheology.com/2020/09/16/finding-the-path-of-blessing-proverbs-163/
Fleming, Donald C. “Commentary on Proverbs 16:3”. “Fleming’s Bridgeway Bible Commentary”. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bbc/proverbs-16.html. 2005.
The Believer’s Bible Commentary
Anders, Max. 2005. Proverbs. Vol. 13. Holman Old Testament Commentary. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference.
