“Mann traoch, Gott Lauch” is a Yiddish proverb: “man plans, God laughs.” God is in control. How could He not laugh? We plan for success, but God chuckles, allowing humbling failure. Or perhaps we prepare for a few failures—but God laughs and sends only victories. That too is humbling as we realize victory was not our doing, but God’s blessing. God is sovereign.
David understood that. God blessed him against a lion, a bear, Goliath, and in a string of military successes. Then God let Saul chase the fugitive through the wilderness for years. Later David became king and saw another unbroken string of victories—until the day his own son chased him from the throne, a fugitive once again. Who was in control? God. God is sovereign.
“THE LORD made David victorious wherever he went” 2 Samuel 8:6. “THE LORD made David victorious wherever he went” 2 Samuel 8:14. “THE LORD made David victorious wherever he went” 1 Chronicles 18:6. “THE LORD made David victorious wherever he went” 1 Chronicles 18:13. Who made David victorious? The Lord. God is sovereign.
“Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain that build it. Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchmen keep awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors, for He gives to His beloved even in his sleep” Psalm 127:1-2.
Have you failed? God is in control. Have you succeeded? Give God the credit. This truth encourages me. I always plan for great success. Yet sometimes I fail. Maybe those failures are part of His plan for me. Man plans, God laughs: God is sovereign.
God, You are the omnipotent king of the universe. Help us work hard and leave the results up to you. Build our houses, guard our cities—work with us and make us successful. But whether in victory or defeat, “may our light so shine before men that they see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven.”[1]
ΑΩ
[1] Matthew 5:16.
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