I went to visit my daughters last weekend, and I came home with a mantelpiece clock which belongs to Ruth. It’s not working and I offered to see if I could fix it. I removed mechanism, dismantled it completely and put it back together. It still doesn’t work, but I am learning and I will get it sorted. The mainspring (which is the power source) is absolutely fine so the fault will be somewhere else in the ‘works’ because the power is obviously not working through the system. I probably need to dismantle it again and rebuild step by step.
Imagine, if the original designer of the clock had been able to foresee which parts would eventually malfunction, and design the clock in a way that sidestepped all the malfunctions. You would have a clock that was on time always – for ever. That would be clever.
Now imagine a clockmaker who not only can foresee which parts will malfunction in the future, and then goes on to design a clock that actually incorporates those failures and malfunctions in order to make the clock work and keep perfect time always. That would be cleverer still.
Does such a genius designer exist?
I make known the end from the beginning,
Isaiah 46:10
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.’
And how can He do that? Because, as He says in the previous verse, “I am God, and there is none like Me.” None.
Let’s look at this from two perspectives – what it means for us as individuals and also what it means for the big picture. For you and me it means that even when there are times that we fail or get it wrong, that is not the end of the story. It doesn’t mean that from now on we are relegated to some sort of downgraded Christian existence. So long as our heart’s desire (even if it’s a weak desire at times) is to walk with God, then He brings us through. Not just scrapes us through, but brings us through victoriously. I bet that makes Satan spit! He spent so much time and effort trying to ensnare us, knock us off course and drag us down.ButGod not only rescues us, “He sets our feet back on the Rock, and makes our steps secure.” He takes full advantage of the circumstance to gain glory for Himself. God is not remotely embarrassed by our failures. In fact, given half the chance, He will make use of them to rub the enemies’ nose in the dirt.
Remember this. Moses killed a man, and subsequently had to leave Egypt where he had been born, raised and educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. Stephen in Acts 7 describes him as “powerful in speech and action”. God was after a different kind of leader – a man who no longer trusted in his own ability to speak well, a man who trusted only in God. So, God used Moses’ enforced exile to re-shape him. The story that followed revealed the greatness of God; revealed His glory.
David murdered Bathsheba’s husband and took her as his wife. Following repentance and restoration, the couple went on to have a son, Solomon, who became King and presided over some of the most glorious years of Israel’s history. Rahab was a prostitute who obeyed God and as a result is listed as a direct ancestor of Jesus. The point is that there is nothing that God cannot redeem and also make use of if we are willing.
And the bigger picture? Simply this. As the quote from Isaiah reveals, He is God, He knows the end from the beginning. His purpose will stand. He will do all that He pleases. Nothing can prevent Him.
Our God is in heaven;
he does whatever pleases him.
Psalm 115:3
In the middle of another lockdown, when rationality seems to be overtaken by hysteria and we can feel trapped and unable to function on so many levels, we need to remember this: Nothing and no one can stop the promises of God coming to fulfilment. What He has promised He will do.
In Joel 2 v 28 God says, “In the last days I will pour out my Spirit on all people……” It is coming
In Habakkuk 2 v 14 God says “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea”. It is coming.
He has spoken prophetically of a great move of God coming in this nation that will sweep millions into His kingdom. It is coming.
There is a phrase in Luke 21 v 28 that we need to act upon. It was written in a different context, but especially in hard times like these is good advice: “Look up, for your salvation is near.”
In the words of Isaiah 14 v 27……Who can stop the Lord almighty?
Church is out there 