God’s plans & our plans

Man is full of plans and projects. Sometimes they work out, when he manages to successfully conclude them.  Other times, they’re a flop.

God’s projects, on the other hand, always work out as he wants them to. This infallible success is a two-edged sword: it works for the good of those who love him, but for the ruin of those who forget him.

To the nation of Assyria, the Lord said through the prophet Isaiah, “Be sure of this: Just as I have intended, so it will be; just as I have planned, it will happen” (Isaiah 14:24 NET).

At that moment, the plan was to punish the Assyrians, for their disdain for the evidences of the only true God. And in case they thought they could free themselves from punishment, he said further,

“Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has a plan, and who can possibly frustrate it?  His hand is ready to strike,
and who can possibly stop it?” (verse 27).

The answer is obvious: No one can stop God from fulfilling his purposes. But isn’t that how man thinks? He believes that, by his power, intelligence, or money, he can avoid God’s punishment and even win applause for his cunning.

God, however, is not a man who changes his mind at the last minute. Neither does he compromise his holiness, to ignore our evil. He acts by principle, not by playing favorites.

On the other hand, the person who seeks him with his whole heart has the same certainty of salvation.

Even the punishment which God sends upon some is often part of the salvation of those who submit to his will.
Every act of God contributes to fulfill his greater purpose of saving, in Christ, the obedient.

God will fulfill his plan. It remains for me to decide on which side of that fulfillment I will fall. As Paul wrote to the Galatian Christians,

“Do not be deceived. God will not be made a
fool. For a person will reap what he sows,
because the person who sows to his own
flesh will reap corruption from the flesh,
but the one who sows to the Spirit will
reap eternal life from the Spirit”
(Galatians 6.7-8).

When we decide to insert our plans within God’s project, we’ll have much greater chance of success here on earth, and we will be sure of success in eternity.

–by J. Randal Matheny

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