Needing Full Alignment

Scripture:
We plan the way we want to live,
but only God makes us able to live it.
Proverbs 16:9

Observation: This section of Proverbs includes many one-sentence soundbites of wisdom, and this one is about the general effort of people's lives and their personal plans. There are two ways to read this:

1) We can plan to be a good person, following the Lord's will for our lives, but it is only by the strength of the Holy Spirit that we are able to obey and fully live within the Lord's will.

2) We can make all kinds of earthly plans for our lives, but in the end it will be the Lord's plan that comes to pass in our lives, therefore only if they are aligned will our plans succeed.

These two interpretations are very similar in outcome - that when our plans align to the Lord's will, our lives will proceed as we expect - but they are different in the matter of heart. If one puts the Lord first and seeks his will, then our lives will be full; If one creates their own plans, success is by chance only.

Application: I ask over and over for insight from the Lord about the direction of my life, and my personal plans in life have been torn apart over and over as well. I do know that peace in life comes when I seek the Lord's path, while disharmony, pain, and difficulty result when I charge off on my own plan. This is even manifested in other proverbs of this same chapter, that discusses how leaders interact with others for success ... but I have learned that interacting that way within a situation that is not within the Lord's plan for your life won't work.

My life needs full alignment to the Lord's plan for my life. I need to be in the place he wants, doing what he wants, with the people he wants. So ... am I?

Prayer: Lord, my God, I am your servant. Yes, I know that my heart sometimes seeks its own ideas and direction. Please forgive me. As you need to tune my life, please do so, so that I may be aligned to your will and your plan, and contribute to your kingdom of heaven here on earth, during the life I have left. Amen.