Ephesians 1:9-11

 "God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan." Ephesians 1:9-11

I am a planner. I like to have a plan for the day. It keeps me focused on what I want to accomplish. It drives me crazy if I don’t and I tend to mindlessly go through the day. I thrive on routines and rhythms. And it usually all starts with coffee on my back porch.

God had a plan when He chose to adopt us as His children. Ephesians 1:10 tells us that God’s plan was to “at the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ-everything in heaven and on earth.” The phrase “bring everything together” is the Greek word “anakephalaioo̅” which means “to sum up” or “gather together in one” (Blue Letter Bible). When you think of the word “sum”, more than likely you think of adding numbers together. Paul is saying that God is in the process of adding things together so that they can be brought into completion in Him. In the end, all things will be made right and complete. One day every wrong will be righted, and creation will be as it was meant to be. 

Romans 8:18-24 speaks of this future glory. In verse 23 it states, “And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children…” (New Living Translation) Somehow knowing this brings me hope. When I walk through difficulties or face death, this isn’t how it was meant to be. And God is in the process of making all things right. It won’t always be this way. Yes, while my feet are planted on earth, I will have to deal with hard things. I will have to walk through trials. However, the trials I face aren’t without a purpose, and God has a plan.

Further down in Romans chapter 8 it says, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (New Living Translation) This is a great verse. Unfortunately, it is often misused and misunderstood. God does cause everything to work together but there are several caveats here that often get skipped over. One is that this provision is made for those who love God, and the second is that they are called according to His purpose. What does Ephesians say His purpose is? His purpose is to bring everything to completeness through Jesus Christ. So everything that happens to me, God will use to make me complete in Jesus. It doesn’t mean that it will always feel good or bring good into my life at that moment. An example of this would be losing my dad to cancer. We prayed for dad to be healed. I watched him testify about God’s goodness in the midst of the battle. We believed God would heal him. In the end, we lost him. Was that good? No, it was a difficult trial my family had to walk through. Was God’s purpose for my dad, and my family fulfilled? Yes, absolutely. He taught me about His sufficiency in a way that I couldn’t have learned otherwise. I will probably not see all of His purpose for that trial while on earth. I will not see all the ways that God brought about good through it. But I can rest in the fact that it wasn’t wasted. His Word tells me that all things will be used to accomplish His plan. This means that when I walk through hard times, I can rest knowing that He will use it. He will make everything work according to His plan.

Truth to Remember:

God has a plan. He is working to make all things complete in Him. Even as I walk through trials, He will use the trial for His good purpose.