Unchangeable Purpose

" For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart Him?  His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?"                                                                                                
                                                                                                                         ( Isaiah 42:17)




     Over approximately a twenty-four year time span (1589-1613), William Shakespeare produced: 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and 2 long narrative poems.  Today, his plays have been translated into every major language and are performed more than any other playwright.  He is currently regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist.

     These accolades, however, were not given to Shakespeare during his lifetime.  Contemporaries referred to Shakespeare as "common" and "second-rate".  They also accused Shakespeare of trying to reach above his rank by competing with university-educated writers, such as: Christopher Marlow, Thomas Nashe, and Robert Greene.

     Despite his critics, Shakespeare was not deterred in sharing his talent.  Over time, he did, however, shift his focus and change the genre of his writings.  His early writings consisted of comedies and histories.  He then transitioned to tragedies and finally to tragicomedies, which are also known as romances. The complexities of both issues and plots intensified in his latter years.

     While it is documented that Shakespeare had some religious influences in his life, it is unclear as to his personal beliefs.  Biblical references are intertwined in his subject matter, but he seems to vacillate between both ideas of free-will and fatalism.  He certainly never points to God as a Sovereign, loving, and merciful Father.  Instead, he focuses on social mores and moral obligations that war with one another to produce angst in the souls of man.

     In one of his early comedies,  As You Like It,  he portrays people as pawns in the game of life.  One of his most famous monologues is in this play, where Jacques states,  " All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts..."  ( Act II, Scene VII ).

     Shakespeare was gifted with extraordinary insight in seeing the world from a carnal man's perspective.  However, it would seem that his enigmatic writings lacked the personal knowledge of an intimate relationship with his loving Father in heaven.  The one absolute he leaves with his readers is that his faith is concealed to be a divine mystery.

     As believers, our lives are never left to chance (or fate).  God desires to show us convincingly who He is and the unchangeableness of His purpose and plans for our lives. We are all created with untold purpose and fashioned by God's own loving hands.  We are unequivocally and passionately loved. No matter how we feel, what we are suffering, or even what we are hoping- the Bible gives us a clear Word and direction to provide the guidance that we seek.

     God, Himself, is described as "the same- yesterday, today, and forever". (Hebrews 13:8).  His attributes, character, words and promises do not change.  They are eternally immutable and unwavering.  Through reading the Bible and through prayer, we have access to Him personally.  The author of the book of Hebrews says, " let us go right to God Himself with true hearts and fully trusting Him". ( Hebrews 10:22).

     It is possible to see the world from God's vantage point.  When we seek Him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, His Word promises us that He will give us wisdom and clarity in our lives.  God would never give us over to confusion and duress when He is what we seek.  It is also impossible for God to deceive us when we flee to Him for refuge.

     He also gives us strength and encouragement so we can grasp and hold fast to the hope appointed for us.  He sets before us two unchangeable things- His promises and His oath to us who believe.  Hope then becomes the steadfast anchor of our souls.

     Before we ever see God move on our behalf, He will give us assurances.  These assurances provide a complete and peaceful confidence in a particular matter.  Often, God will use others to give us a scripture regarding a matter in which we have been praying.  He always confirms His Word.  Paul, and his contemporaries, tell us, "What we told you produced a powerful effect on you, for the Holy Spirit gave you great and full assurance".  ( 1 Thessalonians 1:5).

     Once God gives us inner assurance, it brings a calming effect that settles our minds and spirits.  God's still, small voice prompts our perception that everything is going to be all right.  We find our confidence in knowing God's character, wisdom, and power will carry us through every circumstance we face.  This gives us the confidence to move from petitioning God to thanking Him in advance for our answers.

     The anointing of the Holy Spirit provides a peaceful calm that erases doubts and confusion.  This peace of assurance will always precede our breakthrough.  Isaiah 32:17 tells us, " the effect of righteousness will be peace [ internal and external] and the result of righteousness will be quietness and confident trust forever."

     When God provides us with the assurance that He is, and He will be, moving on our behalf, the result is a mental, physical, and spiritual rest.  Hebrews 4:13 tells us, " For we which have believed do enter into rest."  When faith and assurance collide, we can be at rest even in the midst of the most severe storm.

     Jesus was able to sleep through a storm because He knew He was going to the other side ( Luke 8:22-25).  He enables us to do the same.  Jesus designed it so that danger would no longer bring fear to us,  but an expectation of divine intervention.   And, when our dangers are past, we give Christ the glory of our deliverance.

     In 1699, Jonathan Swift wrote, "Vision is the art of seeing the invisible."  God has a vision and a dream and a destiny for our lives.  To fulfill the calling He has for us we have to be plugged into Him.  We are to pray and look to the future with much expectancy.  Daily we are given opportunities to walk within the will of God. Paul describes it this way, " For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."  (Ephesians 2:10).

     What a comfort it is to know that all things, good and evil, are under Jesus' control and power!  How blessed we are to be under the care and initiative of a loving Father who has good plans and purposes for our lives!  How thankful I am for the peace, assurances, and rest that God provides for us!  He is always good and His goodness toward us is forever unchangeable!



" Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and the earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and Yours it is to be exalted as Head over all."
                                                                                                                            ( 1 Chronicles 29:11)