Don’t Count God Out

Proverbs 16:33 says, “The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.” Maybe you are good at playing Uno, the card game where you are given a number of cards that have different abilities. The winner is whoever gets rid of all his cards first. If you say you are good at Uno, what you are really saying is that you are a lucky person. Now, there may be some skill involved, but to be good at a game like Uno is just to be good at luck.

What is that? The fact is that as you look ahead at your day, you are going to look at it in one of three ways, that luck has to win the day, that you have to win the day, or that there is a God. The question is which of those three do you look at? Do you think, “I’ve got to make it all happen?” Do you think, “I am just lucky?” Or do you think, “There is a God.”

Proverbs 16:33 is about the sovereignty of God. In fact, there are nine or ten verses in Proverbs 16 that are about the fact that God rules, reigns, and is sovereign. That is important to understand if you are going to negotiate a life that God would have you to live. When faced with a challenge from Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel said, “King, there are no wise men or magicians in your kingdom that can interpret your dreams, but there is a God.” Throughout the Bible that is an ethic you see over and again. There is a God.

Think about your day. I am going to do such and such. On the other side of that is God. I plan on doing thus and so, but there is a God. Things are difficult or good, but there is a God. The point is don’t count God out. Throughout the Bible, you have propositions like verse 33 where you have two statements connected by the conjunction but. “The lot is cast into the lap.” That is, you can roll the dice, but “the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.” The old cliché is man proposes, but God disposes. The bottom line is don’t count God out. God is on the other side of whatever you can see. I plan on doing thus and so, but there is a God. This problem seems insurmountable to me, but there is a God.

Quite honestly, when it comes to things like eternity and the sovereignty of God, those are mind-blowing. If you can think of those things and it doesn’t hurt your head, then you are not really thinking about them. I don’t know that I can perfectly explain either, and I don’t need to. From the perspective of Proverbs 16, the simple fact is that God is sovereign. So, consider God on the other side of whatever you can see.

Proverbs 16:1 says it this way, “The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.” The next verses all invoke God with phrases like “from the LORD” “but the LORD,” and “unto the LORD.”

Proverbs 20:24 says, “Man’s goings are of the LORD, how can a man then understand his own way?” Oftentimes you come to a place in your life where you think, “I don’t even understand my own life. I don’t even understand where I am headed.” The truth is, if you look at the stories of greatly successful people, generally you find some natural giftedness, a lot of hard work, and then what we would consider luck, some break they had that other people just as capable didn’t have. You think, “It is hard work and dumb luck, but really it is just more dumb luck than hard work.” When you see life that way, you are missing that there is a God.

Proverbs 16:9 says, “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.” Don’t count God out in your preparations. We make the preparations in our heart, but don’t count God out.

What about your way, the things you are doing? Verse 2 says, “All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.” You may think you are doing the right things, but what does God think?

Consider God in your work. Verse 3 says, “Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.” If you are anxious or confused, commit what you are doing to God and your thoughts will become clear; they will be established. So, consider God in your work.

Consider God in the wickedness you see around you. “The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil,” says verse 4. Don’t be discouraged when you think evil people are getting away with it. There is a God.

Consider God in your success. Verse 5 says, “Every one that is proud of heart is an abomination to the LORD.” This is one of the primary sins, a sin of the devil. I am never more like the devil than when I am full of myself. When I succeed, don’t count God out.

What about your choices? Verse 6 says, “By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.” When you consider two options, don’t forget God. Consider God in your choices.

Consider God in your enemies. Maybe you think you don’t have any enemies. Well, whatever comes to your mind when you think of an enemy, that will suffice. Verse 7 says, “When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.” Are you at peace with your enemies? Are you having victory in your life or are you subjugated by your own hatred? Consider God in your enemies.

Ultimately, just consider God in your plans. Verses 1, 9, and 33 all talk about the plans we make and the God who rules this universe. “The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.” Don’t count God out.