Remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it. – Isa 46:9-11

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. – Philippians 1:6

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. – Proverbs 19:21

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. – Matthew 25:34

And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. – Romans 8:27-29

 Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. – Ephesians 1:4-6

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, – Ephesians 1:11

This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, – Ephesians 3:11

You might say God is hard-headed, or stubborn, or some other word like my wife uses to describe me because she sees me as unwilling to change my plans once I make them. Now my wife thinks that is a bad trait, and maybe in a human it is, but in God, it is marvelous. The difference is that God never makes bad plans and sometimes I do. I should be willing to change my mind, but God should not. As he says in Isaiah, “I am God, and there is none like me.”

This is really good news for us.

As believers, God has promised to complete in us the work he has started. He is God, and there is none like him!

I like to be practical about doctrines that are so elevated as the unchangeability of God, aka his immutability. We have to make plans or just make no progress in life. Most of us fret about being in the will of God when making significant decisions. Let me suggest we lean on the unchangeableness of God to fulfill his purpose in our lives. We make our plans, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. That is, we can lay out our plans and head in that direction, but if we are off target, somehow God will redirect us to his purpose because it will stand. (Pro. 19:21)

What takes life to a higher level is the fact that God’s purpose in our individual lives is tied to something much grander, his eternal purpose. You see, we don’t live our lives in isolation with just our own little agenda for peace and prosperity. We live our lives connected to the rest of the world, and there is a purpose to the world. It isn’t, as our popular culture tells us, just a random blob of matter floating around in space with no point to it. We are moving toward God’s destiny for all of his creation, the establishment of his kingdom in which there will be no rebellion.

We individually are being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Corporately, we are being prepared to become his bride; spotless. It is his eternal purpose that we are in Christ and experience all he has inherited through his active and passive work of obedience here on earth on our behalf.

He will accomplish his purpose.