The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance.Psalm 33: 10-12, NKJV.
Heavenly Father, it is in Your holy name that we come before Your heavenly throne. Please give us peace, as we rest in the assurance that You are in control of Your world, and that You will always have the last word. Amen.
For someone who wants to make a point, having the last word is very important. The story is told of a young man who thought that he was big enough to own a wristwatch. On several occasions he had asked his dad for a watch. He had even shown him some pictures of his favorite choices. By this time, his dad had heard all he wanted to hear about watches, so he informed his son that he would hear nothing else from him regarding the subject.
Friday night arrived and the family was gathered in the living room for family worship. Everyone had an opportunity to share a favorite text. David, the young man in our story, waited until everyone had had an opportunity to share their text. He was the last one in the family to share his. With a smile of satisfaction he stood to his feet and recited:
“Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch” (Mark 13: 35-37, NKJV)! Emphasis supplied.
Well, that was a rather effective strategy to have the last word, wouldn’t you say? But the God of the universe will not have to strategize to have the last word. It is His by rights of Who He is – Creator! He is Lord! He is Sovereign! And He will have the last word! When we hear of the power that human beings have, and of how powerful their weapons of mass destruction are, we tremble. And I believe that the half has never been told! “What if . . . ?” Our minds go back to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We freeze at the remembrance of September 11, 2001!
Dearly beloved friends and family, there is no need to fear. Human beings are limited in their doings, even though at times it does not appear that way. When we observe tragedies in nature, and hear of some of the atrocities of war, our “hearts [fail us] from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Luke 21: 26, NKJV). We tend to forget that this is still “[Our ] Father’s world” (Maltbie D. Babcock)!
There is no need to fear, because the Creator of the universe loves His creatures! I believe there is nothing that He would desire more, than to save us all. Unfortunately, not everyone wants to be saved. And in His respect to our freedom of choice – He will not force His will upon us. But for all who are in a relationship of love with Him, and are desirous of spending eternity in His presence, we have nothing to fear for the future. God will have the last word.
One of these days, perhaps sooner than we believe, the Sovereign God will pronounce the words: “It is finished” just as He did on the Babylonian kingdom, during the reign of Belshazzar (Daniel 5: 26). One day the Savior will say, “He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.” “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work” (Revelation 22: 11, 12).
These may be some of His last words. If they were, where would that leave you and me? May God help us to watch and wait, not in fear, but in hope and prayer; knowing that the God we love and serve loves us – and – He will have the last word!