EVERYTHING changes, but…“You are the same, and your years have no end.” (Psalm 102:27)
For us, change is inevitable. Time, people, past experiences, current circumstances, our environment, our education, even God Himself causes us to change. Sometimes we change in the blink of an eye, and sometimes we change gradually over years. Regardless, we are all changing – in good ways and not so good ways. Because we (and everything else around us) change, we assume the same is true about God. But it’s NOT!
God doesn’t change…EVER!
This is called God’s immutability or His unchangeableness. This doesn’t mean God doesn’t change at all. It means He is unchanging in the ways affirmed by Scripture. He is unchanging in His BEING, His PURPOSES, and His PROMISES. Everything else in creation is subject to change except the Creator. He doesn’t – and will never – change in these ways.
The most frequent command throughout the Bible from God to His people is “Trust in Me”. How could any of us do that if God could change?
Our hope of salvation is based on God’s immutability. Imagine if God could change in His being, purposes, or promises. One day, He says, “Jesus’ death and resurrection paid the price for the penalty, presence, and power of sin.” If God changed His mind, our hope of salvation would be uncertain.
We can't trust in a god who changes. But we can surely trust our God because He is unchanging.
Since God doesn’t change, God can always be trusted.
The fact that God is unchanging should give us nothing but hope, confidence, and trust in who He is and what His purposes and promises are.
Many of us struggle with our faith and trust in God. Often, this is because our conclusions about who He is, what His purposes are, and what He has promised are NOT founded on Scripture. When we base our beliefs about God on something other than Scripture – where He has made known who He is and what His purposes and promises are – we put our trust in a “lesser god” who changes.
The One True God of the Bible doesn’t change.
Below are 6 NEVER-CHANGING statements about who God is, what His purposes are, and what He has promised. I believe that if we come to trust in the unchanging God in these 6 ways, we will come to know Him more personally, truly, and sufficiently in a way that will radically change our lives.
- God loves you.
- God hates sin and will judge everyone for it.
- Forgiveness for sin is available through Jesus.
- God never leaves or forsakes His people.
- God wants to change us.
- Jesus is coming back again!
REFLECT:
- Are you trusting in the never-changing God of the Bible, or a different God?
NEXT STEPS:
- Take some time this week and read through Psalm 102. Read it as a plea of your own. Consider your current circumstances – your fears, your hurts, your worries, your pains, your stresses. Engage with God this week, praying that He – in His unchanging Being, Purposes, and Promises – will help you embrace and overcome these trials of your life. Rest in His promises and plans and His unchangeable nature.