November 29, 2014 - Saturday

The intention of the human heart is deep water,
but the intelligent draw it forth. (Proverbs 20:5 NABRE)


We all have plans. Big plans to buy a house or start a business. Little plans to visit with a friend or plant a garden. Deep in our heart is where they form. Today's verse tells us that the wise person finds ways to express plans of the heart.

To this, I might add my own interpretation, which inclines toward the idea that not all plans of the heart are worth expressing outwardly in words or action.

So, what distinguishes the wise and intelligent person? In large measure, it is their discernment of which plans to express in their lives. Simply put, the wise person acts on those plans which have their source in God's prompting, and they recognize and dismiss those which do not.

So now, how does one confidently recognize a plan as being prompted by God's Spirit and not some other source? In my lifetime, I have encountered two ways to do this. Both require faith before action. Both reward me over and over again. Both provide me with encouragement to continue to grow in faith rather than to lose heart, and both raise my confidence to rely increasingly on God:

1. Prayer. When we ask the holy Spirit of God to lead our hearts as we approach new ideas, opportunities, situations, troubles, or scenarios in which we just don't know what to do, he always does. He never denies us this. But pray quietly and listen. Stop yelling in prayer, if you are, or you will miss it. And be open to both new ideas you hadn't considered as the right path as well as difficult actions you'd rather not have to take. You will find that God's direction is often startlingly different than you would ever expect. These occasions are where trust pays you back so deeply, because outcomes become proof.
2. Awareness. When we act according to the prompting of the Spirit, we notice our path literally opens before us, decisions make themselves, and things seem to fall into place. After this happens the first time, and the second, start to appreciate the pattern. Give thanks and continue to pray in all things. It doesn't take long until this simple routine becomes your safe passage in a world of unexpected danger.

Today, I will take all the plans of my heart to quiet prayer and I will take notice of paths that open before me and those that dry up and disappear.


Saint Saturninus, martyred in France in 257, pray for us.