Read: James 1:17; Hebrews 13:8; Psalm 46:1-3
Reflect: It was February 28th, 2020 and I was more than happy to begin a new chapter of my life. I retired from my full-time job and had many of plans and dreams written in ink in my Day-Timer. Who could have known that in just two weeks the world as we had known it would come crashing down? “Normal” took a seismic shift. Things taken for granted changed overnight. Most people (including me) thought the season would be temporary but it has now stretched into almost three years. We have woken up into a world which in many ways is unrecognizable.
One can go to bed with world/national news headed in one direction and wake up the next day with everything headed the opposite direction. It feels like an international version Whack-A-Mole. We live in a world of shifting shadows. However, we do not have a shifty God. “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow”. (James 1:17). God is “immutable”. That means that God’s “being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth are infinite, eternal, and unchangeable.” (Westminster Shorter Catechism). For those of us who have had to deal with major fluctuations and heartaches, we can access our Heavenly Father Who will never be less than He is now and He will never be different from what He has already revealed Himself in the past. We see this in Jesus Who is “[eternally changeless, always] the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8).
Countless promises & reassurances have been made and broken (or the wording has been altered) over the past years across the landscape. But, we can put those sorrows to the side and rest. “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken and will He not make it good and fulfill it?” (Numbers 23:19) God has the character we crave. He is the Father Who is constant, truthful, all-powerful and Who never wavers. Unlike the personalities of some of our friends, we do not have a moody God Who decides to keep His Word one day but not the next. His character is changeless. “The same God Who forgave David for his adultery is the One Who crushed His own Son when Christ became sin at the cross for us.” (written by Desiring God contributor Christina Fox). That is the kind of God we can depend on.
God is our refuge and strength [mighty and impenetrable], a very present and well-proved help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains be shaken and slip into the heart of the seas, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its roaring. (Psalm 46:1-3) It doesn’t matter if the date is 3/15/20, 3/15/23 or even 3/15/1900. God is the same, yesterday and tomorrow. The calendar of my life is in His hands and He is utterly dependable because He is immutable. Changeless. Are you letting God write with indelible ink on your heart His promises which never fail?
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