Does God have a plan for the world? Does God have a plan for my life? Thoughts on what God tells us in Isaiah 14 and a dream from Edward Carr.
'The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him underfoot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.
This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?'
(Isaiah 14:24-27)
Towards the end of 2025 these verses in Isaiah 14 caught my attention. I had thought I would share them as an appropriate encouragement at the beginning of this year 2026, a time when we often sit down and write goals or make plans for the year ahead, but the thoughts wouldn't flow! I am returning to them now trusting that there is a reason for that.
When reading I particularly noticed that God's 'purpose' was mentioned four times. I don't recall having read of God's purpose so many times in such a short space of time before and it made me stop and think:
- What does 'purpose' or 'purposed' really mean in this context?
- What does this tell us about God?
- How does this relate to us and our plans today?
1. What does 'purpose' or 'purposed' really mean in this context?
- Purpose
According to my Strong's Concordance this word 'purpose' comes from the Hebrew word for advice but it implies a 'plan' or 'prudence'.
In other parts of the Old Testament the same word is used to mean counsel, advice or purpose.
- Purposed
Purposed as a verb here also means to advise, counsel or consult, and has the idea of 'decision' with it.
When we consider that the beginning of these verse starts with 'surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass', and that the original Hebrew word for thoughts here means to compare, (implying 'to be like, resemble, act like, devise, balance or ponder') we start to see a real depth in these words purpose and purposed.
We get the sense that God has made a decision after great consideration and pondering. One that has come from thinking and sharing counsel within the Godhead. A plan that has been devised, all alternatives and options pondered, a plan thought out and with much preparation.
- The context
This deeply thought out plan of God's is shared with us by His prophet Isaiah.
The immediate message was for the Jewish people of that day who hadn't broken away from the royal line of kings descending from King David. These were the tribes of Judah and Benjamin in the Southern part of David's kingdom, known simply as Judah (the remainder of the kingdom was called Israel).
Isaiah was telling the Jews of Judah that God had decided that their great enemy, the Assyrians (who came from the area of modern day Iraq), would 'be broken' on the Judean mountains and subdued. Their tyrannical hold over the Jewish people of Judah would be broken.
My study Bible suggests that Isaiah actually saw the time God was referring to when the Assyrians laid siege to Jerusalem during the reign of King Hezekiah.
Hezekiah feared God and prayed for his help, following which God promised through Isaiah that these enemies would not set foot in or fire a single arrow at Jerusalem (Isaiah 37) for He would defend them. Then overnight God sent an angel who destroyed thousands of the Assyrian army, with their king fleeing back to Assyria where he was later assassinated by his own sons.
2. What does this tell us about God?
We may think, what relevance does this have to us today?
Why has this evidence of God having a plan and it coming to pass been so carefully preserved by God for us to read thousands of years later?
Perhaps, because you and me are saying today, does God have a plan for my life? What should I do and does it matter? Does God have a plan for the world?
God knows what we are like. He knows our common fears and anxieties. He knows how we often struggle to trust and believe Him.
Here, not only do we learn how God is a meticulous planner with carefully thought out purposes and decisions for what will happen, but it tells us that God knows what is in the future, that God is powerful over all and nothing can stop Him.
What God has determined and decided absolutely WILL happen.
He says here, 'so shall it stand'. Although stand can mean to literally rise up or stand it can also mean to 'come about' or denote the inevitable occurrence of something predicted or prearranged (Strong's concordance).
This is evidence that tells us we can trust God as One who keeps His word. No one and no thing can change it.
3. How does this relate to us today?
Armed with this knowledge of what God is we may still wonder what relevance this message to Isaiah and Judah about the Assyrians has for us today. Well to my mind we have three more messages relevant for us here:
- Firstly, if you notice, after saying that He would break the Assyrian in His land, God says, 'This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all nations.' This wasn't just a promise of God's purposes for the Jews at that time - it was a promise of God's purposes or plan concerning the future of the whole world. This means promises concerning you and me who are individuals in this world;
- Secondly, it bring to my mind the mysterious intricacies of God knowing what will happen, and yet how He delights in having us ask Him to perform what He has promised.
- Thirdly, it speaks to me of how God knows our sinful nature and the temptations of Satan and how they will cause us to do certain things, but yet the mystery of how He weaves this all into His promise of overcoming evil with good for His own people.
i. God's plan for the world
To my mind this refers to the plan of salvation that God has meticulously planned.
Although God's message to Isaiah was to Judah and regarding the Assyrian enemy it makes me think of God's people through all time and their enemy, the devil. As we are under a yoke of bondage, entrapped by the devil and his snares or deception and lies, so we too need freeing and saving by God.
Even before creating His perfect and beautiful world God knew that the humans He would also create would turn their back on what He had commanded for their own good. They would reject God and rather listen to the lies of Satan.
This is evident as much today as it was then. I recently heard a minister recall an experience some years ago that clearly illustrates this.
He told us that when at a business dinner some years ago he heard his colleagues agreeing that 'the further we get from taking any notice of what the Bible says we should do, the better life gets'.
This is a great deception of the devil. It is as if he says to all mankind, as he did to Jesus when tempted after his baptism, 'I'll give you everything your heart could want if you follow me, worship me, and reject God'. (He told Jesus he would give Him all the glories of the world if He would fall down before him and worship him, Matthew 4:9).
But the truth is that when we reject God we are under a terrible delusion, a terrible yoke of bondage to the devil and if it were not for God's plan of salvation, we would all be heading for an eternity of suffering and death without God.
A minister in 1897, Edward Carr, had a remarkable dream about this and the way to heaven, which he presented to his congregation as a sermon. Although quite lengthy I think it is worth sharing the beginning of that with you here as it is so expressive.
He dreamt:
'All the inhabitants of the world appeared before me in an extensive open plain. As I gazed, I perceived there were great differences among them of race, locality, refinement, religion, colour and riches.
Great masses were sunk in poverty and vice. Still, there seemed plenty of gaiety, animation, and even happiness, among considerable sections. Besides, the vast place where they dwelt was not an unpleasant place, it was often brilliant with sunshine, and decked with many beauties.
Approaching a party of those who seemed most favoured with health and comfort, I said to one of them, "You seem to be enjoying yourselves, and to live in a pleasant place."
The person I addressed turned to me, and his countenance, just before beaming with delight, suddenly grew pale and wan as he hissed in my ear, "Come again when I'm alone, and I'll tell you something".
I went to him again and remarked, "Many of you seem to be fairly happy, and the world on the whole appears a pleasant place."
To my surprise he buried his face in his hands, and groaned out, "O, 'tis a hard way! O, 'tis a hard way!"
I said, "Why?"
He replied, "Look over there," pointing at the same time in a direction towards which I now noticed the whole multitude was rapidly (so rapidly) drifting. Then I saw, not very far off, a long black line, covered with the most dense dismal gloom I had ever beheld.
It was impossible to discern what that awful darkness was, much less what was beyond it.
Approaching, I was terrified to find it overhung an apparently bottomless abyss, into which the whole mass of human creatures were being hurled, as they came tumbling over the edge of that yawning gulf, instantly disappearing in its depths.
All classes, all ages, incessantly were being forced irresistibly down in crowds, as they arrived at that point. Turning to look, I saw from the direction in which they were coming, that all the living were doomed to apparent destruction. The name of the abyss was DEATH, and HELL lay beneath it!!
With a shudder I now perceived the fatal cause - though unfelt and unthought of by most of the human race - to be the existence of two mighty forces, resting as a curse upon every person, and a blight upon every life.
They were the powers of SIN and WRATH.
Then I remembered some words I had once heard, 'The way of transgressors is hard' and the 'wages of sin is death'...
Whilst I was considering these solemn things and viewing the multitude hastening to the pit, I began to see a HAND secretly moving amongst the people, and I knew in a moment that the operation of this hand was directed by an incomprehensible LOVE.
Strange it was to observe a hand of love among those wretched sinners, all unconscious, as even those affected by it were of the power leading and preserving and directing their steps.
This hand of love which Edward Carr dreamt about is God working out His plan of salvation in His individual people.
By planning that Jesus, the Holy Son of God would come and live and die as a man in the world so that He could take the sins of His people on Himself and reconcile them to His Father, so He freed them from the yoke and power of Satan and from falling into the abys of hell at death.
God purposed that throughout the world there would be people in whose heart the loving hand of God would effect a repentance and a turning to follow Him that they might be saved from the 'Assyrian'.
Jesus has died for those the Father has given Him and none of them will be lost into that abys of hell.
God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit have given great thought and planning to these events - not on a whim or sudden change of mind or without great consideration - think of the cost of salvation - the need for God Himself to come to earth and suffer and do for us what we cannot do!
His purpose and plan of salvation for every single chosen child of God will be working out in their lives to bring them to believe and follow Him.
Their salvation will happen and nothing that Satan will do or try to do can stop it.
So, in answer to the questions, does God have a plan for the world? Does He have a plan for my life?
Yes, He does.
He has a plan of salvation for all those He has loved from before time began.
Do you and I know this loving hand of God working out His salvation in our heart, soul and life? Praise God if we do! Or, if you greatly want or need this, perhaps this very desire is God starting to turn your heart to Him.
Ask Him to continue His work and and make it plain to you that He loves you and that you are His - that He has had a plan of eternal life for your soul from before time began.
And if not, dear reader may God awaken you to see the peril your soul is in! For not only does God have a plan of salvation but He also has a plan to end this world with eternal judgement on those who have hated and rejected Him.
***
Next time, the Lord Willing, we will continue with studying how these verses in Isaiah about God's purpose relate to us individually when we consider:
- The mysterious intricacies of God knowing what will happen and yet delighting in having us ask Him to perform what He has promised;
- That God knows how our sinful nature and the temptations of Satan will cause us to do certain things, but yet the mystery of how He weaves this all into His promise of overcoming evil with good for His own people.
As these are mysteries we will look at examples in the Bible to guide our thoughts and pray that these will help us continue to answer the questions of whether God has a plan for your life, whether God has a plan for the world, and how to know these plans when making decisions in life.
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