“The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sworn this oath: “It will all happen as I have planned. It will be as I have decided.
I have a plan for the whole earth, a hand of judgment upon all the nations.” The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has spoken— who can change his plans? When his hand is raised, who can stop him?”
Isaiah 14:24, 26-27 NLT
God is a Planner. Life on earth does not proceed in a chaotic and random fashion, blown this way and that by the winds of adversity and the whims of sinful men. Daniel recorded some words spoken by a heathen king, Nebuchadnezzar, that put their finger on God’s sovereignty: “… I praised and worshipped the Most High and honoured the One who lives forever. His rule is everlasting, and his kingdom is eternal. All the people of the earth are nothing compared to him. He does as he pleases among the angels of heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop him or say to him, ‘What do you mean by doing these things?’” (Daniel 4:34-35). Nebuchadnezzar finally realised who God was after a period of insanity. As we read today, perhaps we, too, can find some comfort in the same God whom Nebuchadnezzar found. The God who makes plans and keeps to them.
Firstly, it is not only God who makes plans. We human beings make plans every day. Some succeed; others have to be changed. Circumstances arise that we did not expect. People disappoint us. Doors that seemed open suddenly close. Life can take a direction we never anticipated. But God is different. The Lord said, “It will all happen as I have planned. It will be as I have decided. I have a plan for the whole earth”. These words were originally spoken about the defeat of Assyria, a powerful, cruel, and intimidating nation. From a human perspective, it seemed unstoppable, and yet God declared that Assyria’s power would be broken. The message from our verses today is clear: earthly powers may appear strong, but they are never stronger than God, because He is sovereign. There are the three “omni’s” concerning God. He is Omnipotent: God is all-powerful and has dominion over all things. He is Omniscient: God is all-knowing and has perfect, exhaustive knowledge of everything, including the past, present, and future. He is Omnipresent: God is everywhere at all times, intimately present throughout His creation. And He is a Planner, who produces perfect plans that cannot be changed. People everywhere, caught up in war zones, or suffering due to famine, earthquake or just political instability, may claim otherwise, but nothing happens without it being a part of God’s plans. Perhaps that is a view not shared by many fellow believers, but either God is all-powerful or He’s not, and the God I worship is not a weak God who is unable to withstand and direct the forces that exist in this world. The people in Israel may have cried out to God, thinking that he was unwilling to help them, but He was actually using another nation to punish them for their iniquities.
But with all that is going on in the world today, this does not mean that we will always understand what God is doing. There will be times when circumstances confuse us, and we may wonder why God allows certain things to happen or why He does not answer our prayers as we hoped. Our confidence is not based on our ability to understand God’s purposes. Our confidence is based upon the character of the God who makes those purposes, and we know that He is faithful, wise, powerful, righteous and good.
Isaiah wrote, “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has spoken— who can change his plans? When his hand is raised, who can stop him?” The answer is simple – no one. No enemy can defeat God’s purposes, and no circumstance can frustrate His plans. No human power can overturn His decisions. Nothing takes God by surprise, and nothing forces Him to abandon His purposes. This truth should bring great comfort to us pilgrims. There may be things happening in our lives today that we cannot understand, and the future may seem uncertain, with circumstances that may appear to be beyond our control. But they are never beyond God’s control. The same God who declared His purpose concerning Assyria is the God who holds our lives in His hands. We may not know what tomorrow holds, but we know the One who holds tomorrow. Therefore, you can trust Him. God’s purposes may unfold differently from what we expected. His timing may be different from ours. His ways may sometimes be mysterious. But His plans cannot be defeated.
So when life seems uncertain, remember the words of the Lord: “It will all happen as I have planned. It will be as I have decided”.
Dear Lord, thank You that You are sovereign over all things. Forgive us for the times when we become anxious because we cannot see or understand what You are doing. Help us to trust Your wisdom, Your goodness and Your power. When circumstances seem uncertain, remind us that nothing can frustrate Your purposes or stop Your hand. Help us to rest confidently in You, knowing that Your plans will ultimately prevail. In Your precious name. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 