The plan of grace

“Remember this, and be assured; Recall it to mind, you transgressors. Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;…
Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.” Isaiah 46: 8-11 (NASB)

This is such a powerful passage. In the first part of Isaiah 46, God is talking about the smallness and ineffectiveness of Babylonian gods. These dead gods have to be carried on pack animals because they cannot move, so they, along with the pack animals and other possessions, were carried into captivity.  In verses 8-11, God reminds the transgressors, those people (past, present and future) who cherish idols, that He is God, and there is no other. Idols are whatever we place before God. These idols lead us into captivity because anything less than God is captive to sin

God tells that that He has declared the end from the very beginning. He planned each instant in our lives, from the first moment in time. Every moment as I write this, and each and every second in which you read this, God has planned it for His purpose. We were made for each moment in our lives. Can you hear God, speaking to you from the ancient past, saying “My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure”?

The transgressors are part of the plan. We are part of the plan. Somehow, sin is part of the plan, and grace is part of the plan, and it has all been accomplished for God’s good pleasure. When Christ died on the cross, He said that it was finished because God’s plan has already been accomplished. We see this marvelous plan unfold in each second of our lives.