Dear friends of Vital Signs Ministries, November 2026
“God’s Plan Will be Established.”
“Remember this and be assured; recall it to mind, you wrongdoers. Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other. I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying,
‘My plan will be established and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.’” (Isaiah 46:8-10)
I write this month’s letter before the midterm elections and therefore am uncertain whether or not the radical left will be (by hook and by crook) taking America further down the roads of decadence, social and economic insanity, and thorough ruin. Nevertheless, whatever the results, the above scripture text is ever-relevant, ever-trustworthy, and ever-wonderful in the soul comfort it provides. Our nation’s political life is at a critical juncture — of that there is no doubt — but Christians should understand, much more keenly than other citizens, that our steep decline relates less to politics than it does to our varied and over-the-top immoralities, our indifference to biblical truth, the massive bloodshed of the innocent, and the self-satisfied timidity of preachers and priests. Therefore, a fresh appreciation of the truths of this passage may make a huge difference in the life of our nation…but will most definitely make for a life of inestimable worth and eternal reward for the obedient believer.
So, permit me in this month’s letter to preach a little bit on this text.
First let me describe the context of the chapter in which these verses are taken. God has been rebuking the Israelites for playing around with false gods. They have been indifferent to the Lord, dismissive of His covenant relationship, and had actually perverted God’s laws relevant to their behavior. They have participated in the worship of idols, looking to them for material blessings and insights into their future. But the Lord is graciously calling them back, offering grace for their restitution as His people in good fellowship with Him. And He is declaring once again to them (for the umpteenth time) that He is the only true God and that there is no help, no wisdom, no mercy in any other source. Indeed, He reminds them of the unexcelled perfection of His omniscience, even to such miracles as steering the hearts of great foreign kings like Cyrus II in order for His careful plan to play out in exactly the ways that He has decreed.
God gives 4 words of distinct command in verses 8 and 9. “Remember,” “be assured,” “recall to mind,” and again “remember.” All of these are imperative verbs meaning they are not observations or suggestions, they are divine demands. Note also that those required to obey those commands of God are not only the people of the covenant, but also unbelievers and/or, as some Bible students believe, those among the Israelites who have led the way in the wicked practices God is denouncing. Of course, we know from this text (and the full revelation of the Bible) that the authority of God is over every person — no exceptions ever. He is, after all, the only God, the all-powerful God, the Prime Mover, the Creator of everything that is — including all of us. And He is therefore deserving of our obedience and trust, our thanksgiving and praise.
And, make no mistake, God insists upon these responses, the refusal of which results in holy judgment. The proud, the rebels, the conniving, the greedy, the perverted — all are nevertheless offered God’s forgiveness if they simply repent and turn to Him for mercy. But if they deny His authority over them, they themselves choose their terrible end. And yes, that includes the slippery schemers who lie and cheat in order to push through a ”progressive political agenda” that extends still further the murders of preborn boys and girls, that forces girls to compete in athletics against boys, that rewards laziness and vice while removing Constitutional rights of free speech, that takes the United States of America deeper into stupidity, corruption, economic bankruptcy, and international peril. But let these verses from Isaiah 46 comfort you with the final scenario — the Lord God (and those who stand with Him) will be completely vindicated…and victorious. God is not mocked. Nobody is getting away with anything.
But let me get back to Isaiah’s text. Just what does God instruct the Israelites to recall? He tells them to remember His holy actions in history, “the former things long passed.” Many of those actions, by the way, had been fulfillments of prophecy, proofs not only of God’s might but also of His divine wisdom and foreknowledge. But ponder for a moment this critical truth — God doesn’t know what’s coming in the future by looking to another source of revelation. He doesn’t use a crystal ball or tarot cards or magic crystals or the recommendations of Jeane Dixon. God knows the future because He Himself makes the future! Like in the moment of creation the worlds appeared at the word of His power, so too does history run in the detailed course established simply by God’s sovereign will. “I am God, and there is no other. I am God, and there is no one like Me.”
The evidences of the Lord’s eminence and authority were well known to Isaiah’s audience, including all they knew of their people’s history, including the “former things long past.” That would include such unfathomable marvels as the creation of the world; the provision for Adam and Eve after the expulsion from Eden; the judgments of the tower of Babel and the flood and Sodom and Gomorrah; the call to Abraham and the covenant God made with him and his offspring through all of time; the deliverance of Israel from Egypt; the protection of God to an unbelieving people in the wilderness journeying; the deliverances provided by the judges; the splendor and fame of the kingdoms of David and Solomon; the multitude of miracles shown through the ministry of God’s prophets; and more. God is reminding them (and us) of all these miracles in order to help them (and us) see through the lying fog of rogues and false teachers in order to get a good grip on the fact that “I am God and there is no other.”
The Lord emphasizes His power — always demonstrated towards Israel’s good — in that provocative phrase from verse 10, “describing the end from the beginning.” Who can tell you the end of the story before the climax comes around? Only the author. Only the one who is planning and preparing and enacting the story’s conclusion. Who then can reveal the end of history besides the Creator and Master of all Who is writing it with every t crossed and every i dotted? Whether the story involves weather, asteroids crashing into planets, or midterm elections, history is in God’s capable hands. And remembering with awe, respect, and thanksgiving the Lord God’s meticulous providence in “things long past” assures us of His meticulous providence in our lives today. Amen.
With God’s authority so plainly proven by the past, we can certainly rely on Him to keep in His all-wise, all-right control “the things which have not been done.” In other words, the prophecies yet awaiting fulfillment are also going to occur just as God says they will. You can bet the farm on it. Just as He has in “past tense history,” God will also perform His purposes in “future tense history.” This means, to give one outstanding example, I can fully expect Jesus Christ’s return to take me home to His heaven (actually, the Heaven that will be on the New Earth) precisely as Jesus promised.
As the Isaiah text underscores, the evidence of God’s character, omniscience, and power in what has occurred to date overwhelmingly provides proof He will come through with every other prophecy, every other promise, every other needed action. Those marvelous moments of God as described, for instance, in Daniel, Psalms, Hebrews, and Revelation are coming my way. Jesus is preparing a place for me (and all who place their trust for salvation from sin in His atoning death and resurrection) in the New Jerusalem where we will be with Jesus forever…along with the restored creation, the angelic hosts, and all of the redeemed saints living with pure hearts in glorified bodies.
Yes, the Lord can be fully trusted to come through and fulfill his promises because He always has. Nothing’s stopping Him. We ended Sunday’s Aksarben Village Church service with the phenomenal choir of the West Coast Baptist College singing Ross King’s “Nothing Ever Can, Nothing Ever Will.” It fit perfectly with the theme of the sermon. Among its lyrics?
Every power on earth and in heaven is a shadow in His light.
No authority, law, or government challenges His sovereign might.
His reign and rule have no boundary.
All that is, His hands have wrought.
Nothing ever can, nothing ever will overcome the Lord our God.
And when the story ends, we know Jesus wins
For His power cannot be stopped.
Our God is victorious; He always wins, He always wins.
In love He reigns over us; He always wins, He always wins.
Nothing ever can, nothing ever will overcome the Lord our God.
The purposes of God which His power performs are holy, merciful, just, and all-wise — always and forever. And the Lord’s character moves throughout His perfect providence as the final line in this passage emphasizes. God says, “My plan will be established and I will accomplish My good pleasure.” Catch the import of these words. “Will be.” (No doubt about it; it’s a done deal, folks.) “Established.” (Construction creatively planned and enduringly sound from this moment on.) “Will be accomplished.” (Finalized, victorious over all opposition.) “All” (Not a bit, not a sizable percentage, but everything!) “My good pleasure.” (The Creator God’s pleasure is good, righteous, blessing the Triune God and all of His creation too!)
Should you and I not then “remember the former things” that God has done, anticipate the outworking of His good pleasure in the future, acknowledge and thank and praise Him for Who He is and what He has done? You’d better believe it! It’s a simple enough response required in the face of such glorious evidence of God’s power and loving concern towards us. Trust Him. Trust Him alone. Trust Him wholeheartedly. And trust Him with joy in gratitude and anticipation no matter what the devil is trying to do or what illusory victories he seems to be enjoying. He won’t enjoy it for very long. Whereas we who have had our sins covered by the blood of Jesus and are travelling along with Him to the New Jerusalem, we have eternity to enjoy the rewards of His victory over sin, death, the world, and the cursed Satan and all his broken hench-devils.
Amen.
Okay, a couple of closing remarks in review of Vital Sign’s month of October. Highlights included our 2-week “working vacation” down in Branson where, among other things, we were greatly blessed with several prayer hikes around Table Rock Lake, feeding the ducks on Lake Taneycomo, reading good books, Bible study and sermon prep, VSM business, planning our always extravagant Christmas entertaining strategies, correspondence, and a reunion of the Ellsworth clan (6 of my cousins from my Mom’s side of the family). Also in October were a few house projects (Thank you to Dan Serlet!); a little celebration with Don & Alberta Kohls for his long-overdue retirement; pro-life witness at Planned Parenthood; attendance at a speech given by Dr. Matthew Spalding (professor, author, and conservative champion) sponsored by Hillsdale College; being interviewed by Toni Clarke for the podcast of Assure Women’s Center where I spoke of important Bible passages that emphasize the sanctity of human life in the womb; helping Don Kohls present a video presentation on Noah’s Ark at Aksarben Village Senior Living; all the social media obligations, and more.
Also, you didn’t see any “When Swing Was King” shows in that rundown of events because we always take the month of October off. But we start next week — and with an expanded schedule too — next week. That’s it for now, my friends. Stay the course. Our redemption draws nigh. And, dear friends, let’s make sure we remember Isaiah 48:8-10 as life unfolds here in November.
