The LORD foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.
Psalm 33:10-11 NIV
Nations and people make plans for a great many things. Sometimes, those plans are good. And sometimes, they are evil. But no nation or person, no matter how powerful they are, can guarantee that their plans will succeed, no matter how good and well-developed those plans might be.
But there is one whose plans will always come to fruition. The plans of the Lord stand firm forever. Nothing can hinder his plans for his creation and his people. But what happens when the plans of nations and people collide with the plans of God?
As the psalmist says here, God foils the plans of nations. They will not succeed against him. That is not to say that God decrees everything a nation or person does. But it does assure us that God has placed limits on what they can do. And he will not allow them to go beyond those limits.
There is much that happens in the world today that I do not understand. Why God allows much of what is going on today, and throughout history, is a mystery to me. But I take comfort in knowing that God is sovereign. And that, in some way, he uses all that happens in this world, good and bad, to further his plan for his creation and his people (Rom. 8:28). I can trust that the plans of the Lord will stand firm. And surrender my plans and life to his keeping.
