I don’t know about you, but there are just times that I feel my world is chaotic, fraught with setbacks, unforeseen trails and difficulties, uncertainties, and just the “normal” affairs of life that come at me. It is natural during times like these for the human heart, mind, and emotions to seek out a foothold that is immovable. When I find myself in one of those moments, I find myself once again running to Isaiah 46:10 to find an anchor for my soul: “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.’”

For me, at those moments, this verse is more than just a theological statement about God’s Sovereignty over the affairs of my life; it is solid ground I can stand upon that is foundational to my ability to abide in Christ. This verse, and verses like it, allows me to remain, to settle in, to “make my home” in Him, to rest in His arms, and to trust in the God Who holds all of history and the future in His hands.

Consider quickly key insights into the character and nature of God from this verse:

He is “Above” All Things
When Isaiah 46:10 says that God declares “the end from the beginning,” it establishes that He operates from a position of being over all time and all things. We live in the “middle” between the beginning and end, with all the uncertainty of the unknown. This can cause us to live in anxiety and even fear over what is happening or will happen. We need to remember this truth: God is not wondering or waiting to see what happens but, rather, He is Sovereign over and orchestrating everything to His glory and for our good.

From “ancient times” He has spoken of things “not yet done,” meaning that before creation God had a purpose and plan, not just for all of mankind but for you and me individually. And, no matter what the situations and circumstances of life might scream at us, the Sovereign God will bring about everything He intends. Understanding and recognizing that we are not at the mercy of luck, fate, or the whims of other people, that His counsel shall stand and His purposes will be accomplished, is a foundational truth that helps us abide and rest in Him.

He is “Immovable” in All Things
“My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all My purpose.” There is an invisible, divine “must” underlying these words. What do I mean by this? We, as humans, make plans that fail; we purpose to do good but don’t; we start projects that we leave unfinished; we set out to running our race in Him, slow to a walk, and then stop moving altogether. But God is not like us. If He speaks it, it will come to pass; if He purposes it, it will be done. It “must” be so, or else He is not God. That right there is what differentiates Him from us and all the false gods of this world. Apart from Him, we vacillate, waver, and waffle by nature; false gods promise a lot but, in reality, they are nothing and can do nothing for us eternally. But God, being God, is immovable and unshakeable, always accomplishing His will and purposes. It is this character and nature of God that allows our abiding in Christ to become less about our efforts to hang on to Him and more about resting in the fact that He is firmly holding on to us.

1. Are you encountering prayers not yet answered or trials / difficulties not yet resolved? Do you feel out of control over areas of your life? Does God feel non-existent and uninterested in where you fin yourself? Remember these three truths:
   When we face “things not yet done,” we can remain and abide in Christ because we know the “end” has already been declared and written by a God Who loves us. We don’t have to panic in the middle of the storm because the Sovereign God has already purposed the ending and is intricately involved in every step along the road.
2. To truly abide requires us to give up the illusion of control. It is God’s counsel that stands, not ours. When we stop trying to be the sovereign over our own lives, and relinquish control to the Sovereign God, we find the freedom to be branches attached to the Vine, and all our fruitless self-striving ceases.
3. God will accomplish all His purpose, and because His purpose for those in Christ is for His glory and our good, we can abide even in suffering. We can stay close to Him because we know that even the hardest seasons are a part of a purposeful end that He has already declared.

To abide in Christ is to live with the quiet confidence that the “beginning” and the “end” are secured by God’s hand. He has purposed to conform you to the image of His Son, and He will do it. Nothing can thwart His will. Today, let your heart be fueled by this conviction of heart and your soul settled on this truth. You are never a victim of chance, but you ARE under the Sovereign eyes of the One Who has already declared the end from the beginning and whose purpose will never fail.