Dear Missionary Lady,
Greetings in the name of the unstoppable God. I pondered several adjectives: unstoppable, invincible, successful. What I mean by that is that if God sets His mind to something, it will happen. Nothing can thwart His plan.
In Jeremiah 47, God reveals His plan of judgment against the Philistines. It will be devastation, a complete conquest. Someone dares to raise the question, “O thou sword of the LORD, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? Put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still” (47:6). The speaker perceives that the judgment has been sufficient and calls out for God to suspend additional judgment.
What is the inspired response? “How can it [the sword] be quiet, seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? There hath he appointed it” (47:8). What the people ask for is impossible. God’s sword cannot be retired, because it has been given a commission by God. A charge. An appointment. It must comply.
This is a negative example, that of judgment, but the same is true in the positive. If God puts forth an objective that He intends to accomplish, nothing can stop it. I’ve been reading a lot in the prophets lately, and once again I am amazed by the incredible boldness of God’s plan regarding Israel. God is intent on restoring that nation and bringing it to Himself in submission and worship. When we look at history and at the world around us, it seems nearly impossible. But when God has determined it to be so, it will be done.
This same truth applies on so many other levels, both grand and small. God will do the work that He has determined to do. That includes the salvation of souls. It includes His work of sanctification in us. It includes global control and the events of time and eternity.
God uses tools. Jeremiah 47 pictures a sword. Much of Jeremiah is filled with prophecies about how Nebuchadnezzar (Babylon) will serve as the sword of the Lord. That sword, which we view as a wicked man and nation, served God’s purposes, and as such, could not be stopped.
As devoted servants of God, we can likewise have confidence that the work He has determined to do through us is not capable of being stopped. As flawed and frail as the tools sometimes are, God’s work through them is powerful and unstoppable. Does your task seem at times large and overwhelming? Remember that the tools God has commissioned must accomplish their purposes. When they are given a charge and an appointment by God for something that He has determined to do, they cannot be silenced or stilled.
May you continue to boldly serve God in all the ways that He has determined, and may He accomplish His great objectives through you.
Love in Christ,
Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
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