“I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’” Isaiah 46:10
God is sovereign – in control of all things – this is true. If there was any doubt in the minds of His people of this truth, God clears that up in Isaiah 46:10. To paraphrase, God says, “I am God. You are not. I know everything. You do not. I will do what I please.” If we aren’t careful, we could misunderstand what God is saying.
When God says, “I will do all that I please,” He is not minimizing man. He is not saying that He is the master puppeteer, and we are just moving as He pulls our strings. While God’s purpose does prevail, He has chosen to involve us in His plans. This is messy work for God. We have not made it easy with our running and resisting and know-it-all attitudes. But still, He relentlessly pursues and corrects and loves, setting us back on His path and involving us in His plans.
The word please in Isaiah 46:10 means: “That in which one takes delight or pleasure.” In this verse, God is saying that He will do what brings Him pleasure. What pleases God, then? From Scripture, we know that God delights in humility. We know obedience pleases Him. So does worship, truth, and faith. God takes pleasure in all of these things.
If God does what pleases Him, does that mean God delights in our suffering and hardship? No! But He does delight in what suffering produces in us. Anything that God allows into our lives is for His pleasure, and therefore for our ultimate good. In every situation, we must choose to see with an eternal perspective. In 2 Corinthians 4:18, Paul wrote that we must “fix our eyes, not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
No matter what you are facing today, choose to look to the unseen. How can this situation build my faith? How does it cause me to worship? What opportunity has it given me to obey? This perspective delights the Father…and what could be better than that?
Father, I know that You are in control of my life. You are aware of all of my circumstances, even when I don’t understand. Please help me to trust You more. Help me to see the unseen and not just the here and now. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Topics: Obedience
