Move It!

(Proverbs 20:5 KJV)  Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.

In Proverbs 18:4 the idea of deep waters has a negative feel.  Perhaps that is continued here.

Or maybe this verse reinforces the idea in the previous verse about planning ahead.  The KJV seems a little closer to the mark here.  We are to take "counsel" (plan NASB) (6098).  In Proverbs the NASB usually translates this word “counsel,” but for some reason has "plan" here.   It has the idea of getting or giving advice.  I think most of us have a lot of unexpressed opinions about what we see going on around us.  Just think of all the unwanted and unsolicited advice you have received over the years.  Think how much you have given out.  Think of it as just the tip of the iceberg.

Many of the plans we have in our “heart” (3820) {end} we would call dreams.  Some are just fantasies.  How many silly thoughts have you had that would embarrass you if people could read your mind.  One of the first I had was to be a member of the Mickey Mouse Club.  Right.  Like that was ever going to happen.

This is normal, I think, and it not enough to cripple us.  But it is not enough to have a plan only in your “heart” (3820).  It is useless until it is shared.  Are there ideas and dreams that you have that would benefit by being moved out of your heart and into your life?   Some of them God would like to see you put into action.  How do you pick out the ones you should invest your life in.

This takes “understanding” (8394) {end}.  This is a very common idea in Proverbs.  It is tied with wisdom.  It can be developed by learning from the Word.  It can be guided by the Holy Spirit.  It takes some effort on our part and does not happen overnight.  Wisdom “draws out” (1802a) what others don’t see.  This is the idea of drawing water.  You dig your well.  You let down your bucket.  You crank it up. 

What is God speaking to you about?  What ideas keep coming up.  You press them down, ignore them, consider them silly and they come in the back door and you find them sitting at your mental kitchen table again.  Maybe it is time to draw them out with understanding.

So keep asking yourself where you should invest your life.  Keep seeking the mind of God.  Keep expecting Him to show you how you should be investing the time you have left on this earth.