May 16 – Plans in His Hands

MAY 16 – Plans in His Hands

3-Year-Bible Reading: Proverbs 16:3; 2 Corinthians 4

//3-Year Bible Devotional Book (Year Two) Available on Amazon

//

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“Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” — Proverbs 16:3 (ESV)

“We do not lose heart. Even though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” — 2 Corinthians 4:16 (ESV)

“We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” — 2 Corinthians 4:7 (ESV)

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It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by life—school, friendships, family, and the pressure to “figure it all out.” You might wonder if your plans actually matter or if you’re just spinning your wheels. Proverbs 16:3 reminds us that when we commit our plans to God, He can establish them and guide us in ways we can’t see. Paul, writing in 2 Corinthians 4, explains that even when we feel weak, limited, or ordinary—like “jars of clay”—God’s power can work through us to accomplish amazing things. The struggles and small steps you take today are part of a bigger story that God is writing.

You might not see the full picture yet, and some days will feel heavy. But the encouragement is that God’s plans are bigger than your doubts and your fears. Every step you take in faith, every small act of obedience, is a part of what He is building in and through you.

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THINK ABOUT IT

1. Commit Your Plans: How can you actively give your schoolwork, friendships, and goals to God each day, trusting Him to guide your steps (Proverbs 16:3)?

2. Power in Weakness: How does remembering that God’s power works through your limitations (2 Corinthians 4:7) change the way you face challenges or failures?

3. Renewal Over Time: In what ways can you focus on renewing your inner self daily, even when life feels exhausting or discouraging (2 Corinthians 4:16)?

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BOTTOM LINE

When you commit your plans to God and rely on His power, even your ordinary efforts can achieve extraordinary results.

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PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding me that my plans matter when I give them to You. Help me trust Your guidance, rely on Your strength, and stay faithful even when I feel weak or unsure. Renew my heart and mind each day so I can reflect Your power and purpose in all I do. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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Welcome to Bible Chat, where we
have devotional conversations

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rooted in scripture and relevant
for today.

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May. 16th plans in his hands.
Have you ever felt like you’re

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carrying too much?
Like everyone around you seems

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to have a plan, a direction, a
sense of purpose, and you’re

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just trying to keep your head
above water?

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Or maybe you have goals and
dreams, but there’s this nagging

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anxiety underneath.
What if it doesn’t work out?

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What if I’m not enough?
What if I’m wasting my time?

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Proverbs chapter 16 verse 3 cuts
right through that anxiety with

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one of the most practical and
powerful promises in all of

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Scripture.
Commit your work to the Lord,

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and your plans will be
established.

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Not maybe, not possibly will be
established.

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There’s a certainty there that’s
rooted not in your ability, but

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in God’s faithfulness.
The key is that little word,

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commit, not just mention your
plans to God in passing, not

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just ask for a quick blessing
and then go do things your own

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way.
Actually entrust your work, your

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goals, your daily effort to Him.
Roll it over to Him fully.

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And when you do that, He takes
responsibility for the outcome.

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Paul adds A breathtaking layer
to this in Second Corinthians

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chapter 4, verse 7.
We have this treasure in jars of

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clay to show that the surpassing
power belongs to God and not to

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us.
You are a jar of clay, not an

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insult.
A beautiful, honest description.

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Ordinary, fragile, in some ways
imperfect, and yet carrying

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something extraordinary inside
the life and light of God

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himself.
The point of that image is that

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when something amazing happens
through you, nobody gets

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confused about where the power
came from.

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It clearly came from God.
Your limitations don’t

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disqualify you.
They actually become the very

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thing that makes God’s power
visible.

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And then verse 16 says we do not
lose heart.

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Even though our outer self is
wasting away.

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Our inner self is being renewed
day by day, day by day, not all

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at once, not in one dramatic
transformation.

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Little by little, as you stay
connected to God, something

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inside you is being strengthened
and refreshed.

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Even on the hard days, even on
the days that feel like nothing

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is happening, even when you feel
like you’re going backward.

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That’s the rhythm God invites us
into.

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Not a Sprint towards some
perfect version of yourself, but

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a daily returning, a daily
committing, a daily trusting

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that He is doing something in
you that you cannot always see

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yet.
So today, whatever is on your

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plate, the assignment you’re
stressed about, the friendship

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that feels complicated, the
dream that feels far away, bring

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it to God, not as a formality,
but as a genuine act of trust.

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Say, God, I’m giving this to
you.

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I’ll do my part faithfully, but
I’m trusting you with the

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outcome.
That’s not passivity.

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That’s one of the most
courageous things you can do.

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And here’s what makes that
possible.

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Every small, ordinary, faithful
step you take matters.

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God doesn’t need you to be
impressive, He needs you to be

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committed, and when you are, He
takes what looks ordinary and

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does something extraordinary
with it.

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Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, thank You for

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the promise that when I commit
my plans to you, you establish

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them.
Help me to truly hand over my

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goals, my worries, and my daily
efforts, not just in words, but

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in real trust.
On the days I feel weak or

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limited, remind me that Your
power shows up best in my

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weakness.
Renew me from the inside out,

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day by day so I can keep going
with faith and purpose.

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I give today to you in Jesus
name, Amen.

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What if the battles hitting your
family are not random and your

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home can become a place where
darkness loses every right to

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stay?
The Secured Home is a powerful

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six book prayer series for
believers who want to guard

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their households with biblical
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in Jesus Christ.
Book 1, Guarded Thresholds,

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fortifies every doorway, room,
and entry point with prayerful

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protection.
Book 2, Cleansed Rooms, helps

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reclaim spaces marked by fear,
unrest, and spiritual

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defilement.
Book 3, Closed Breaches, exposes

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hidden access points and severs
every agreement with darkness.

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Book 4, Broken Assignments,
confronts oppression, torment,

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and attacks against your family.
Book 5, Consecrated Walls,

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dedicates every space and rhythm
of the home to God.

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Book 6, Abiding Peace, shows how
to maintain spiritual order,

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rest, and holy presence every
day.

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Order now on Amazon or visit
prayerscripts.org.

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Now I invite you to spend time
with God in today’s three-year

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Bible reading plan.
Proverbs chapter 16 verse three

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World English Bible Commit your
deeds to Yahweh, and your plans

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shall succeed. 2nd Corinthians
chapter 4 World English Bible

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Therefore, seeing we have this
ministry even as we obtained

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mercy, we don’t faint, but we
have renounced the hidden things

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of shame, not walking in
craftiness, nor handling the

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word of God deceitfully, but by
the manifestation of the truth,

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commending ourselves to every
man’s conscience in the sight of

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God.
Even if our good news is veiled,

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it is veiled in those who are
dying, in whom the God of this

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world has blinded the minds of
the unbelieving, that the light

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of the good news of the glory of
Christ, who is the image of God,

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should not dawn on them.
For we don’t preach ourselves,

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but Christ Jesus as Lord, and
ourselves as your servants for

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Jesus sake, seeing it is God who
said light will shine out of

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darkness, who is shown in our
hearts to give the light of the

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knowledge of the glory of God in
the face of Jesus Christ.

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But we have this treasure in
clay vessels, that the exceeding

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greatness of the power may be of
God, and not from ourselves.

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We are pressed on every side,
yet not crushed, perplexed yet

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not to despair, pursued yet not
forsaken, struck down, yet not

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destroyed, always carrying in
the body the putting to death of

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the Lord Jesus, that the life of
Jesus may also be revealed in

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our body.
For we who live are always

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delivered to death for Jesus
sake, that the life also of

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Jesus may be revealed in our
mortal flesh.

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So then death works in us, but
life in you.

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But having the same spirit of
faith according to that which is

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written.
I believed and therefore I

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spoke.
We also believe, and therefore

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we also speak, knowing that he
who raised the Lord Jesus will

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raise us also with Jesus and
will present us with You.

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For all things are for your
sakes, that the grace being

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multiplied through the many, may
cause the Thanksgiving to abound

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to the glory of God.
Therefore we don’t faint.

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But though our outward man is
decaying, yet our inward man is

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renewed day by day.
For our light affliction, which

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is for the moment works for us
more and more exceedingly an

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eternal weight of glory, while
we don’t look at the things

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which are seen, but at the
things which are not seen.

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For the things which are seen
are temporal, but the things

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which are not seen are eternal.
Thanks for joining us on Bible

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Chat, where Scripture meets
everyday life.

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If today’s devotional encouraged
you, share it with a friend and

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be sure to follow the podcast so
you won’t miss the next

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conversation.
Until next time, stay rooted in

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truth, anchored in hope, and
walking daily with.

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Jesus.

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