20 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,
And whoever [a]is intoxicated by it is not wise.
2 The terror of a king is like the growling of a lion;
He who provokes him to anger [b]forfeits his own life.
3 [c]Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man,
But any fool will [d]quarrel.
4 The sluggard does not plow after the autumn,
So he [e]begs during the harvest and has nothing.
5 A plan in the heart of a man is like deep water,
But a man of understanding draws it out.
6 Many a man proclaims his own loyalty,
But who can find a trustworthy man?
7 A righteous man who walks in his integrity—
How blessed are his sons after him.
Verse 5 reminds me of some of my own plans, and we all have plans. In our mind (or heart), we think these deep things. Then a week goes by, or a month, and what has happened? Solomon states that only a “man of understanding draws it out.” So what in the world does that mean?
In the literal sense, we can see that Solomon was making an analogy to drawing water out of a deep well. Yet we can take it quite literally to see the reality, we need to draw out our plans, or they are no more than mere whims of fancy. That is, we need to write them down, think on them, flesh them out, and figure out how to make them happen.
I’ve heard similar thoughts to this, but it helps to think long term. For example, “where do I want to be 5 years from now?” What will I be doing, where will I be living, and how can I use all of that to serve God–after all, it does no good to make a plan and leave Him out of it. Then, does this plan I have, does it get me there?
Maybe it’s taking you off in a completely different direction from what you actually want to do long term. It can be difficult to think that far in the future, but it’s important to take thought for it anyway. We don’t want to be like the sluggard (v. 4), who takes no thought for the winter, runs out of food, and must beg for his very existence. See more examples of short-sighted behavior in vv. 1-3: the drunkard, the one who riles against authority at every excuse, or who argues with anyone who will take the bait.
Now certainly, we make plans, and we don’t know the future, so we must be listening for God’s voice. When He sends us a course correction, it will be for the betterment of all involved. So make a plan, don’t be lazy and just drift along, but also hold onto it lightly, so that God can guide you all along His way. Who knows what detour God might send you on, but you’ll never know if you’re just drifting in the current.