Isaiah 46:10
“…declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.” (Isaiah 46:10)
You may ask, “What shall I do?” or, “I know exactly what I’m supposed to do, but will I ever be successful?” Is that where you’re sitting? What’s up? Dreams dashed by some influential powerbroker. Why are you uncertain? Why is there apprehension? “Will I succeed? Will I fail?” Well, let me suggest one reason. You aren’t God. Well, that’s pretty fundamental, isn’t it? Actually, there’s only one person who can be very certain about the future, who can be absolutely sure of success.
Our text is Isaiah 46:10, “But God says my purpose will stand.” That’s it. “My purpose will stand.” You’ll notice in this where he says that some of the aspects of the sovereignty of God are touched on. For example, he says, “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.” The Sovereign One has all the information, all the knowledge. Then, he says, “I will do all that I please.” So not only all wisdom, but all power. Then in the 11th verse, he says, “what I have said that will I bring about.” One of integrity. If he says it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. If he says that it’s His purpose, that will be achieved. God is sovereign, so you may have uncertainty, but the good news is that there is One with great certainty. Perhaps you suffer from a feeling of guilt, some wrong that whatever you do you can’t seem to make right. Listen to the sovereign One, “Why even I am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more. I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like a morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.” That’s His purpose. And remember, His purpose will stand.
Or perhaps you are uncertain about the future. It seems that you are in the midst of a dark tunnel. You don’t really see any real light at the end. Or perhaps you are emerging from a tunnel and the road ahead is rough and perhaps unpassable. “Hear the Sovereign Lord. I will lead the blind by ways they have not known along unfamiliar paths. I will guide them. I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do. I will not forsake them.” That’s his purpose. And remember his purpose will stand. Who may have fears? Perhaps you fear some circumstance.
Perhaps there is a wavering with a sense of insecurity. Maybe still groping to know what God intends you to be. Does anyone really know me? The real me? Does anyone really care? Hear the Sovereign Lord, “Fear not, For I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. The flames will not set you ablaze, for I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” That’s His purpose for you and remember his purpose will stand.
Perhaps you sense a gap between your dreams and your perceived ability. Can you really cope with the problems, let alone with the opportunities that loom, and you are acutely aware of your own weakness? That’s His purpose. And His purpose? Welfare. And that’s a great relief. You don’t need to cringe and be apprehensive. His purpose will stand. You don’t need to fret about the attitudes and activities of others. Whatever their purpose, God’s purpose will stand. You don’t have to strive so feverishly and desperately. You don’t have to cower before the enemy. God’s purpose will stand, whoever the enemy, whatever the opposition. You don’t need to feel all the pressure that keeps you dashing frantically from crisis to crisis, because his purpose will stand. And he will do all that he pleases, so relax. Wait quietly on the Lord. He will bring about his purposes — not yours, but his.
God’s purpose will stand. That’s what he says of himself. So that you really shouldn’t feel it necessary to believe the future, your ministry, or whatever it may be, really depends on you or your health, on your smarts, on your courage. His purpose really will stand. Relax, stop trying to play God. You aren’t God. Stop flirting with all those other gods of this world, the strength that you have in your bank account or your money or your whatever. “No,” he says, “turn from those gods. There’s only one God. Consider the things that I’ve done,” and then in the next phrase he says this, “I am God and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times.”
The only question for you today is whether or not he will somehow identify and prosper your purpose, and whether you will be caught up in his purposes so that what he promises will come true.