“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.”
Paul invites us into a team huddle with today’s verses — I imagine a coach whispering to his players, “Ok everyone, here’s the plan…” What is not so secret (because God has made it known to the world) is that Jesus Christ holds all the authority and power. It’s all about him! God is bringing everything together, restoring heaven and earth, under the kingship of Jesus.
When we are connected to Jesus, we get a whole lot of royal privileges. God grants us an inheritance because we are his family (as we read about yesterday when he loved us and adopted us just because he wanted to). The big reveal in these verses? God makes everything work out.
Here’s your freedom for today: we can trust God because his plans work out. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a plan or two fail in my lifetime. Even the best of ideas and intentions can go wrong because we live in a fallen world and we are sinful people. But God is working his plan out and everything is right on schedule. He chose us in advance — he is making sure our salvation is secure. This does not mean that he makes all of our life circumstances happen the way we want them to. God is not working stuff out for you. He is working stuff out for himself. It pleases him to love us and save us, so he will do it. We can trust that no matter what happens to us on this earth, God will accomplish your eternal salvation if you grab hold of Jesus.