What He Desires, That He Does

“But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back?

What he desires, that he does.

For he will complete what he appoints for me,

and many such things are in his mind.”

Job 23:13-14

A rewording of that beloved Philippians promise: “he will complete what he appoints for me.” I typically think about Philippians 1:6 in a happy, positive light: Yay! God *will* finish the process of making me more like Jesus—He *will* rescue and redeem and save and keep me to the end.

But this verse from Job—maybe simply because it’s in Job?—has a different feel, a different tone. Yes, God will complete this good work He has begun in me—but I am not always going to like what that process looks like. It’s going to hurt sometimes.

Everything that comes into my life has been appointed. No accidents, no surprises to Him, no random chance or coincidence or “plan B.” What He desires gets done. Full stop.

“Many such things are in his mind,” far beyond my understanding. But in His mercy and kindness He has plainly revealed the driving purpose. He doesn’t always let me in on the whys and wherefores of the journey, but He has explained and defined the destination, crystal clear.

Do we realize He didn’t have to do that?

Because of the gospel, when the journey is dark and confusing and hard and hurts—when, as Ginny Owens sings in an old favorite song from college, “The pathway is broken / And the signs are unclear / And I don’t know the reason / Why You brought me here” –I can trust that these painful means are means to a GOOD end. His desire is to conform me to the image of His Son, to maximize my joy in Him. And “What He desires, that He does”! The death of Jesus secured my inheritance, secured the final outcome, ensured that all of the promises are YES.

I don’t know or understand the “many such things [that] are in his mind” concerning my life. I don’t always understand why He desires or appoints what He does. But I do know that what He desires is good and holy and beautiful. And I rest in the promise that He will complete it.