Isaiah 54:17 / Romans 8:28 Poster

"…No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed…" Isaiah 54:17 "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 Ultimately Isaiah 54:17 will be true when God’s unfolding purpose in fallen human history has been achieved and the eternal story of revelling in His glory has begun. When Christ returns and sorrow is turned to joy and weeping is turned to laughter, then it will become manifest that no weapon formed against the people of God was able to succeed. However, until that day, arrows still pierce Christian flesh, terrorist blades still sever Christian heads, and cancer and Alzheimer’s and disability still ravage Christian bodies. How are we to make sense of this? Is the promise of Isaiah 54:17 for us? Yes, this promise is for us (2 Corinthians 1:20), but it should be combined with the robust view of God’s sovereign goodness portrayed in Romans 8:28. So complete, so intricate, so surpassingly glorious is God’s sovereignty that He has ordained all things for the good of His people. This means that, in the end, it will truly be said that no weapon formed against those in Christ—even the stones that killed Stephen and the blades that behead in the Middle East—was able to succeed. Rather, all things were orchestrated to the Christian’s good and God’s glory. Because of this truth, Christ is portrayed as defending his own from the weapons of this world (symbolising both natural and moral evil). However, the single white arrow that has been allowed to wound is a way of symbolising the painful experiences God has mercifully ordained for our good. Notice also that the wounded man does not lose heart because his eyes are fixed on the one who is both the king of love and author of his trial. Praise God, the day is coming when we will see with joyful clarity that no weapon formed against those who trust in Christ has succeeded.