Fulfillment: Psalm 138:8

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Big statement here: You can’t mess it up.

In Psalm 138, we read that God is sovereign over all other objects of worship, all kings and governments, all proud individuals, and all troubles that surround you. He surrounds your surrounders! Then we get to this verse: “The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands” (Psalm 138:8 ESV).

Think about that: The Lord will fulfill his purpose for you!

You can’t mess it up. This should give you cause for peaceful rest: God has created you with a purpose in mind! Put negatively, nothing can stop God from leading you where he wants to take you. Put positively, God has real plans for you that he will accomplish. So then you can pray a rested prayer from Psalm 138:8: “Don’t forsake me, the work of your hands!” Or in other words, “You brought me to this party. I know you will dance with me!”

Adversity doesn’t mandate unrestful stress. Rest is possible in work and trials. When your plans are disrupted, you want to say, “Am I missing something? I must be overlooking something. I must have failed somehow. Maybe God is punishing me.” The assumption is that your plans or comparisons are the gold standard, and everything else is a deviation from what should be.

But God’s plans are the gold standard. The trouble you face right now isn’t in the way; it is the way.

Did Jesus have a leg up? After all, he had specific prophecies about his life. Don’t you wish you had those? Let’s see, he had prophecies like where he’d be born, that he would be beaten so badly that he wouldn’t even look human anymore, that people would think beating him was an act of worship. Ok, maybe we don’t want his prophecies after all! But how did Jesus fight through adversity and come to rest on that night of betrayal leading to death for our sins? He said, “Not my will, but your will.” The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. And that brought him peace!

Do you ever hope you don’t miss what God wills for you? You hope you don’t overlook something important? “Just tell me, God, so I don’t miss it! I’ll do it!” Friend, your plans aren’t the standard. God’s are. You can let your worries rest. God is invested in you. A major aspect of putting your trust in Jesus Christ is resting in the thought that he has plans in mind for you. Good ones. Hard ones that make you into a hall-of-famer. Excellent ones. The right ones. He will fulfill them, so that means that even as you rest, as you take responsibility to do what is right, as you work, as you endure, as you live day to day without all the answers, he will fulfill his plans for you.