Remembering Who Is The Boss in 2007

Its New Years Eve. The night each year when ordinary people think about the future and how to change it. I'm not talking about a science fiction story or a visit to the psychic friends, I am talking about the very real sense in which we dream about the year to come. Dream? Absolutely, we dream. We dream about how to change things. We dream about our hopes and our fears and our triumphs. The interesting thing is that the roads leading to these dreams are the reflections of our past. We look back at all our decisions, some good and some bad. We see the mistakes and missteps, and the successes and the victories. This is a necessary activity because we learn from experience as well as from being taught.

Wouldn't it be easier if we could just be told what is right, and then we would act on it? It would, but we can't. Its not in our nature to submit to the authority and knowledge of another and especially God. We see this in Genesis when Adam and Eve were told what to do, and they made the decision to not “go with the sure thing.” They decided that they knew what was better. They backed the wrong horse as the saying goes. Satan sat there and fed them lies and they chose to do their own thing. “No thanks God, we got a great thing going here, but we could be like you so we'll see you on our terms.” Dumb.

Now I look back at my life and see all the ways in which I jumped at what I wanted to hear, or what I concocted in my own reckoning was right. I've made mistakes, and I've been selfish. I've made the mistake of being a truth unto myself. Dumb.
Here are some of my favorite Proverbs that remind me that my knowledge is insufficient to the task of running my own life.

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed.
Proverbs 15:22

Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have understanding and power.
Proverbs 8:14 (I added the emphasis)

For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm."
Proverbs 1:32-33

Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.
Proverbs 16:20

And from Jeremiah:
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

These verses are just a few that remind me that God is the boss and that my decisions need to be based on what he desires. As this new year begins and I dream about things to come, I need to make sure that those dreams are in compliance with His will.