Ultimate Security: Finding a Refuge in Difficult Times by Derek Prince Page A
Authors: Derek Prince
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happen.
In this matter of scriptural insights about predestination, I want to add one more quote from Paul, which is our fourth example of this principle:
In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:10–12 nasb)
Notice again that we are predestined according to the purpose of God, who works all things according to His will. This simple fact should set our hearts at rest. If God has decided to do something, He is going to get it done. And everything He does is for the praise of His glory, which is always His ultimate purpose.
Let me sum up the essence of all these Scriptures in a very simple, practical application that will encourage you greatly: You are not an accident waiting to happen. You are part of an eternal plan. You are destined to become a member of God’s family. It is all going to take place through His grace and for His glory. This, in its totality, is complete security.
A Lesson from Jonah
In regard to the practical side of being predestined, we see that God’s predestination also provides for our mistakes. We can thank the Lord for that. God anticipates our mistakes and has prepared various ways to deliver us from them by His grace. The life of the prophet Jonah provides a clear picture of this truth.
God called Jonah from the mountains of Galilee to go east to Nineveh. He was to warn that city of impending destruction due to the people’s sin. However, Jonah was an Israelite, and Nineveh was the capital of Israel’s enemy, Assyria. Jonah did not want to see God spare Nineveh. So, instead of going eastward to Nineveh, he refused his call and went westward.
If you study Jonah’s pathway after that refusal of God’s call, every step he took was a step down. He went down from the mountains to the foothills, from the foothills to the plain, from the plain to the port, from the port to the harbor, from the harbor to the ship, and from the ship into the sea.
Jonah’s downward path should be a warning to each and every one of us not to refuse the call of God on our lives. However, God had His plan worked out: “The Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up” (Jonah 1:4 nasb). God blocked Jonah’s path by a storm, and the sailors ultimately threw Jonah overboard. But later on in that chapter, it says, “And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17 nasb).
God had prepared the fish. Think about it: If that fish had needed to swim fifty miles to get to Jonah, Jonah would have been dead by the time the fish got there. However, the fish was there waiting for Jonah because God had already provided it. That is God’s predestination!
After being three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, Jonah changed his mind. He went back to Nineveh and preached what God had told him to preach—and the city repented. However, Jonah got very angry because he really did not want to see his enemies spared. What was his response? He went off by himself to pout—and he sat down in an exposed area that overlooked the city of Nineveh. It was boiling hot, what they call in Israel a sirocco —a terrible hot wind that makes everyone miserable. To protect Jonah from the sun, “the Lord God appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was extremely happy about the plant” (Jonah 4:6 nasb).
Well, Jonah was very happy with the plant. But he still was not glad that God had spared Nineveh. Therefore, to teach Jonah a lesson, God caused the plant to wither. “God appointed a worm when dawn came the next day and it attacked the plant and it withered” (Jonah 4:7 nasb).
I want you
In this matter of scriptural insights about predestination, I want to add one more quote from Paul, which is our fourth example of this principle:
In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:10–12 nasb)
Notice again that we are predestined according to the purpose of God, who works all things according to His will. This simple fact should set our hearts at rest. If God has decided to do something, He is going to get it done. And everything He does is for the praise of His glory, which is always His ultimate purpose.
Let me sum up the essence of all these Scriptures in a very simple, practical application that will encourage you greatly: You are not an accident waiting to happen. You are part of an eternal plan. You are destined to become a member of God’s family. It is all going to take place through His grace and for His glory. This, in its totality, is complete security.
A Lesson from Jonah
In regard to the practical side of being predestined, we see that God’s predestination also provides for our mistakes. We can thank the Lord for that. God anticipates our mistakes and has prepared various ways to deliver us from them by His grace. The life of the prophet Jonah provides a clear picture of this truth.
God called Jonah from the mountains of Galilee to go east to Nineveh. He was to warn that city of impending destruction due to the people’s sin. However, Jonah was an Israelite, and Nineveh was the capital of Israel’s enemy, Assyria. Jonah did not want to see God spare Nineveh. So, instead of going eastward to Nineveh, he refused his call and went westward.
If you study Jonah’s pathway after that refusal of God’s call, every step he took was a step down. He went down from the mountains to the foothills, from the foothills to the plain, from the plain to the port, from the port to the harbor, from the harbor to the ship, and from the ship into the sea.
Jonah’s downward path should be a warning to each and every one of us not to refuse the call of God on our lives. However, God had His plan worked out: “The Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up” (Jonah 1:4 nasb). God blocked Jonah’s path by a storm, and the sailors ultimately threw Jonah overboard. But later on in that chapter, it says, “And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17 nasb).
God had prepared the fish. Think about it: If that fish had needed to swim fifty miles to get to Jonah, Jonah would have been dead by the time the fish got there. However, the fish was there waiting for Jonah because God had already provided it. That is God’s predestination!
After being three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, Jonah changed his mind. He went back to Nineveh and preached what God had told him to preach—and the city repented. However, Jonah got very angry because he really did not want to see his enemies spared. What was his response? He went off by himself to pout—and he sat down in an exposed area that overlooked the city of Nineveh. It was boiling hot, what they call in Israel a sirocco —a terrible hot wind that makes everyone miserable. To protect Jonah from the sun, “the Lord God appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was extremely happy about the plant” (Jonah 4:6 nasb).
Well, Jonah was very happy with the plant. But he still was not glad that God had spared Nineveh. Therefore, to teach Jonah a lesson, God caused the plant to wither. “God appointed a worm when dawn came the next day and it attacked the plant and it withered” (Jonah 4:7 nasb).
I want you
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