There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand. (Proverbs 19:21)

The Purpose Of The Lord Shall Not Change

There are many absolutes in life. Death is certain, the sun rises and sets apart from the will of man, and nations come and go as wars are fought and won, the seasons will always fill the earth and procreation is only accomplished by the union of a man and a woman. This is hard for humankind to accept as men try to cheat death, change the course of nature, build mighty empires, talk of global warming and accept same-sex unions as natural and moral. The beings that laugh at the calamities of human wisdom are the angels who peer into the souls of men asking why this puny fleshly creature thinks he is so wise and powerful when at best men are made lower than angels. The eternal beings know that regardless of what men do on the third rock from the sun in a vast expanse of the universe, the will of the Lord will always reign supreme. There are many plans made by the force of human wisdom but at the end of the day, the Lord’s purpose will prevail. It always has and always will succeed. The Bible is the historical evidence that whenever men try to make themselves into gods they only succeed in building images of sand that pass away in time. In the early world men embraced every debauchery of the fleshly and carnal spirit to where the wickedness of men was evil continually. The Creator viewed the world with disdain and by His eternal word brought a flood that filled the earth more than twenty feet above the highest mountain. Who survived this cataclysmic deluge? Only eight souls because they believed the will of God would be accomplished regardless of man’s wisdom. When it first began to rain the crafty wisdom of men found ways to stay above the floodwaters but not for very long. Soon, everything that had breath on the face of the earth perished with the exception of those in the ark of safety. Where was the wisdom of man during the flood? After the flood men multiplied and decided to build a tower whose top is in the heavens. They wanted to make a name for themselves so they began to build. The purpose of man was thwarted when the Creator came among them and confused the languages. Nations were born from this purpose of God and have never changed.

The Bible is filled with stories of those who thought they could go outside the habitations of God’s will and serve their own carnal wisdom. Abraham and Sarah tried when Ishmael was born but that was not the plan of God. It seemed to sell their brother into the hands of slave traders was a profitable business but the sons of Jacob did not know how God would use Joseph to show His power in Egypt. Many years later, Pharaoh tried to go against the will of the Lord in the face of devastating plagues and finally all the firstborn of Israel including the animals died in one night. Chasing after the Hebrews into the Red Sea, the will of God destroyed the army of Pharaoh. Israel always found itself into dire straits when they thought they knew more than God. At Sinai, fearful something had happened to Moses, the people pleaded with Aaron to make them gods to worship and three thousand Hebrews died as a result of their rebellion. Arriving at the promised land, Israel refused to enter for fear of the people of Canaan and thinking they knew more than the Lord. Forty years would be punishment for their human reasoning. No matter what they did, God’s will was carried out for the Hebrews. The history of Israel is the affirmation that men plan many things but the counsel of the Lord will stand.

Jesus came to earth to die for the sins of all men. Satan tried to change the plan of God but failed. The Jews rejected Jesus and murdered Him but that was the plan of the Father to be accomplished for the salvation of the world. It became foolishness to those who disbelieved that a crucified man would be the Savior or that disciples would believe in a resurrected Christ. The wisdom of men could not imagine the value of believing Jesus was the Son of God but the counsel of the Lord stands. Many reject the simple teaching of the plan of salvation to follow human reasoning and carnal standards of salvation. Most religious people reject baptism as any connection to redemption. The church is viewed with disinterest and the Bible maligned as out of date. Modern societal norms accept same-sex unions, sexual perversions, prejudice, anti-God rhetoric and rejection of moral codes guided by the word of God. When all is said and done, the counsel of the Lord stands and the purposes and plans of men vanish. There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.