Deceit fills hearts that are plotting evil;
    joy fills hearts that are planning peace!

Proverbs 12:20

I love peace. I like to think I value peace.

I pray for peace, and I’m all for “giving peace a chance.”

And to be honest, I don’t know many people who are anti-peace. We like moments without anxiety, seasons without struggle and times with a minimum of tension.

But this Proverb is a powerful challenge because it’s not just asking us to determine what we prefer, it’s asking what we are planning for: “am I planning for peace?”

I have no desire to walk as a “plotter of evil.” I have no desire to intentionally or unintentionally be a person who seeks opportunities for the destruction or disconnection of what is healthy and nourishing. And that’s an important part of this verse: intentionally and/or unintentionally. It’s important to see that part of the word Solomon uses here, the word we translate “plotting,” actually means to be silent or to keep quiet. So this isn’t just a matter of actively seeking evil, it includes the passive act of allowing it! It could be read here that whatever we are doing and whatever we are not doing to plan for peace is an act of plotting evil.

It could be read here that whatever we are doing and whatever we are not doing to plan for peace is an act of plotting evil.

• This is a powerful word: the one who seeks or willingly allows evil finds that their heart is filled up with fraud and treachery!

• The heart, the place of the will and the place of passion and desire, the place where courage and trust are supposed to live and emerge from – if that place is filled with lies, how devastating are the effects?!

On the other side of this proverb are two wonderful words: joy and peace.

But there is a hinge pin which allows joy and peace to freely move together: “planning” (“counsellors” – KJV).

• This word in the Hebrew speaks of a consultant 

• As best I understand it, a planner/counsellor/consultant is someone who is capable of stepping into a situation and creating a pathway between a challenging reality and a desired condition.

• Like an engineer, therapist or interior decorator there is a skill to going from problem to solution – and the writer of Proverbs says that this skill is wise to have and hone in our lives

• If I want to walk in peace, I have to become a planner of peace.

• And if Solomon is correct here, then he says that those who “plan for peace” have hearts filled with joy!

• Look carefully at this statement

• He doesn’t say those who have achieved peace will have hearts of joy…

• He says those who “are planning peace” are filled with joy!

Joy isn’t limited to the outcomes of our obedience. Joy is available in the process.

Joy isn’t limited to the outcomes of our obedience. Joy is available in the process.

So what am I actively doing to create a process to move from the places in my life where there is deceit or evil to a place of peace?

• Do I need to pray specifically about a situation to have the mind of Christ for it?

• Do I need to pick up a book about a certain kind of challenge and learn?

• Do I need to have a tough conversation to break some relational ice that has thickened over time?

• Do I need to put down some things that are toxic to my thinking, speaking or relationships?

What will you do to become a “peace consultant” today?

It matters how we answer that question,  it’s the difference between a heart full of joy and a heart full of fraud.