Fear not (Part 3/30) - God's Unchangeable Plan

We can well imagine that Paul was afraid (by the way, he was often afraid, see, e.g., 2 Cor 4:8). After all, he would now be entering enemy territory where people would hate him—a tremendously great task.

The Lord calls out to him not to be afraid. And why not? God still had a plan that could not and must not be thwarted.

This is a very encouraging thought for us: God's good (!) plan will always come to fruition - regardless of how likely it is from a human perspective or how much resistance there is. If the Lord wanted to bring the gospel to the people in Corinth, no one could stand in the way of this plan. If God promises that no one will do anything bad to Paul, then it will come to pass.

For us: Because the Lord wants to bring his good intentions with us to fulfillment, no obstacle in the worldThe word is used with different meanings. It can mean the whole of humanity (Gen 41:57) or the created world (Rom 1:20), but also a moral system that is opposed... can change that. God is never surprised by circumstances, nothing embarrasses Him, He is never at a loss! He never has to decide something spontaneously! Let us trust Him that He will do everything as He has planned!  “Saying, ‘My counselThe counsel (purpose) of God is his plan. What God plans will happen. There is a counsel of God with his people Israel (Isa 46:10). This counsel has existed since... shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure’” (Is 46:10).

"No undefined fate and no questionable coincidence rule over us. The infinite wisdom of God guides us to a goal." (C.H. Spurgeon)

This thought can bring great peace. John Paton, whose life as a missionary among brutal South Sea cannibals often hung by a thread, was once again surrounded by bloodthirsty natives. He reports: "My heart went up to the Lord Jesus; I saw that he was watching the whole scene. My peace returned to me like a wave from God. I realized that I was immortal until his work was done with me. This certainty came over me that no musket could be fired to hurt us, no club could hit us, no spear could leave the hand in which it vibrated to be thrown, no arrow could fly from an enemy's bow, or no deadly stone could be hurled from the hand of a wicked man without the permission of Jesus Christ, who has all power in heaven and on earth."  The Lord has everything under control - whether in the life of Paul, John Paton, or you.

Charles Spurgeon comments: "As long as the Lord had a work for Paul to do in Corinth, the rage of the mob was restrained. The Jews opposed and blasphemed, but they could not prevent the preaching of the gospel nor the conversion of the hearers. God has power over the most violent minds. Therefore, give no place to the fear of man if you know that you are doing your duty. Go straight ahead, as Jesus would have done! Sometimes, people have had cause to fear because they were afraid, but an undaunted faith pushes fear aside like a giant cobweb on its way. No one can harm us unless the Lord allows it. He who scares the devil away with a word can certainly keep the devil's agents at bay."

Another beautiful example of how God's plan comes about is Ruth. We read: “And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz” (Rt 2:3). A term describing "coincidence" is a term that one would not expect to find in the Bible. But it only appears to be a coincidence that Ruth stayed in Boaz's field out of all the fields of Bethlehem. Ruth had no concrete plan but simply went to Boaz's field ("by chance"). In fact, however, this was divine providence, with the aim of fulfilling God's plan from Mt 1:5: “Boaz begot Obed by Ruth.” So Ruth had no choice but to end up with Boaz: no blind coincidence, no beautiful twist of fate, no whim of Fortuna, but divine guidance. Whatever happens is either caused or permitted by God.

"Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" (Num. 23:19)

The Lord Jesus is telling you today: "Do not be afraid! My good plan will come to pass just as I have planned. No obstacle in the world can thwart it. You can trust me to bring everything to a good end!"