Proverb Expansion
The proverb means that man is not the ultimate master of his destiny. In other words, man can carry out his plans only with the help and grace of God. We make plans for our future. Our well-laid plans may go wrong sometimes. It is because God has his plan for everyone. He knows what is good for us and gives it to us at the proper time. However hard we try whatever preparations we make and whatever precautions we take, God has to give his blessings to make the attempt success. Some proud and ambitious people are over-confident of their powers. They plan to do big things, but they can succeed only if God is disposed to help them. Man can propose to do things, but it is God who finally decides to favour him or not. Proud men forget God and think that they can do mighty deeds. But they can never succeed if god decides against them. Napoleon and Hitler are good examples in this connection. Napoleon wanted to conquer the whole Europe. So he attacked Russia without any reason but was defeated. That was the beginning of his downfall. The same fate befell Hitler too. God disposed against them and they were defeated. Thus the proverb conveys the message that the power of God is supreme and God’s will alone will come true. But this doesn’t mean that we are to leave everything in God’s hand. God help those who help themselves. So we are to try our best.
