Around the holidays, one of my favorite desserts to make is seven-layer cookie bars. Jason’s mother made these for their family nearly every year, so I've decided to carry on the tradition. The good thing is it’s an easy dessert to make. The bad news is they’re so delicious I find it hard not to eat the entire pan myself. (Why do sweet, tasty things have to be so unhealthy and fattening?)

Anyway, this week I made a batch of cookies bars for the family Thanksgiving dinner, but I made one change—I left out the nuts (unless, of course, you count the one making them, hehehe!) The logic behind my choice was there would be plenty of bars for the Rongione family dinner on Thursday and the White family dinner on Saturday. One dessert, two occasions. I like it! That being the case, I left out the nuts because my niece is allergic. Makes sense, right?

But here’s the thing. I could make them with nuts or without, but once the cookie bars are baked, the deal is done. You can’t add anything to them or take anything away. All the yummy ingredients have melded (and melted) together into one tight package, and there’s no way to pick out what you don’t like or add in what you do. It’s a finished product. . .just like God’s work.

Our key verse is Ecclesiastes tells us that what God does is forever, and nothing can change it. Sure, men try. For ages, people have been attempting to change God’s Word to fit their liking and to twist the truth to fit their lifestyles. But the truth is still the truth, and God’s plans haven’t changed. Despite man’s attempts to explain God away, He is still in control of it all, and what He has established is forever.

That’s good news, but it gets even better because it goes beyond what God has done and extends to what God is doing now. Check out these verses:

I love that! God is saying, “I will do what I will do, and nothing will stop me.” Nothing! Isn’t it comforting to know nothing can deter God from His plans? After all, Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that the thoughts God has for us are of peace and not of evil. He has good plans for us. Plans to prosper us. Plans to help us become more like Him. Plan above and beyond our wildest dreams. And nothing can stop those plans. No sickness can get in the way. No financial hardship can make them an impossibility. No doubt can scare them away. God has a plan, and He will fulfill it. End of story.

That ought to have us singing praises and jumping up and down for joy. It ought to bring peace to our hearts and calmness to our minds. But I think we’re often so preoccupied with the problem we forget the promise. We lose sight of how powerful God is and what He can do. We’ve already discussed how nothing is impossible for God, now we need to carry that a step further and hold fast to the truth that once God has begun something, He will see it through. (Philippians 1:6) There’s no stopping Him. He won’t be defeated. He won’t give up. He won’t grow tired or weary. He’ll see it through to completion. That’s the truth, and there’s nothing we can do about it except believe it.