God's Plans are Sure

“6 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him. 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. 10 The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” (Psalm 33:6-11 NIV).

Don’t worry–my soap box was put up yesterday. We did look at verses 6-9 yesterday and focused on their importance. Today, we use these early verses as the backdrop/context of today’s thought. Verses 6-9 remind us that the visible universe is a result of the creative utterance of God. Everything that is came when God spoke. Theologically we call this fiat Creation–God created by the spoken word ex nihilo (out of nothing).

Why look at this today? Because it sets the stage for our text: 10 The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” The Living Bible renders verses 10-11: “And with a breath he can scatter the plans of all the nations who oppose him, but his own plans stands forever. His intentions are the same for every generation.” Now taking that verse 10 we can easily see the link between these two verses and verses 6-9. Just in case you missed it, let me summarize with a loose translation, “With a breath He created and with a breath He can scatter the plans of all who stand in opposition to Him.” Such is the awesome power of God.

Those who know Jesus Christ are in the hands of that awesome God. He loves you and cares for you as His own! What a comfort that should be when times get tough!

One final thought. Look again at the first part of verse 11, “But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever.” Many times people will ask me, “Do you think I’ve missed God’s will for my life?” All we have to do to answer that is look at Psalm 33:11, God’s plans are not thwarted, and the last time I checked, my strength is not more powerful than His! Is it possible to stray from God’s pathway? Absolutely. That’s what sin is at its very root. But the promise of God is that “He (the one whose word brought everything into being) “who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6 NIV–emphasis mine). God’s will is not dependant upon my response. His plans “stand firm forever” and no matter how powerful the man may be, he is not going to thwart those plans. Neither are you nor am I. Relax.