The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty. – Proverbs 21:5 (NIV)
The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want. – Proverbs 21:5 (KJV)
52 Proverbs in 52 Weeks – Week 42
This week’s theme: God’s Life Hacks, simple Biblical truths to increase the fruitfulness and happiness of our lives.
God’s Life Hack: Plan for the Future
Joseph’s entire life story (captured in Genesis 37-45) is an amazing testament to God’s providence. There are many lessons we can learn from how Joseph handled adversity, but one of those lessons, in particular, jumps to mind when I read Proverbs 21:5. That lesson is this: it’s smart to plan for the future.
Picking up his life in Genesis 41, Joseph had been forgotten in an Egyptian prison for two years and he’d been put there unjustly. At that time Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, had some disturbing dreams that he didn’t understand and his advisors thought Joseph could help interpret those dreams. They pulled Joseph out of prison and brought him before Pharaoh. Giving credit to God, Joseph told Pharaoh what the dreams meant, and the message had some bad news. Through Pharaoh’s dreams God revealed that Egypt was about to go through seven years of abundant crops followed by seven years of a terrible famine. After interpreting the dreams Joseph had an additional message: Pharaoh should plan for the future.
Pharaoh took Joseph’s advice. Recognizing that God was with Joseph and had given him wisdom, Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of preparing the entire nation of Egypt for the famine. That’s quite a promotion from his place in prison just hours before. And Joseph prepared diligently. He collected and stored up food during the seven years of abundance, then wisely managed the distribution of that food during the famine. The famine was so severe that “all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph” (Genesis 41:57, NIV). Thus, by diligently planning for the future, Joseph not only saved the people from starvation but also generated great profit for Egypt. “The plans of the diligent lead to profit…”
Most of us aren’t likely to be facing a severe famine anytime soon, but we all certainly have things to prepare for: a test or project at school, plans for college, current or future jobs, saving for a purchase, retirement, … our eternal future after we pass from this earth. Solomon tells us that diligent planning for these things leads to profit, but not planning ahead (i.e., being “hasty”) is the path to poverty.
It’s smart to plan for the future. Next week’s verse will add an important caveat to how we go about that planning…
Here’s a link to more verse posts on God’s Life Hacks.
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