Unchanging

From childhood, consistency was my best friend. Throughout my health issues, an unchanging routine was the best option to keep my needs balanced.  Sometimes it was challenging when life happened and schedules became affected by appointments. Consistency kept me alive, and sometimes adjustments had to be made.

Most of us would agree that changes are difficult. Such an understatement for anyone who thrives on stability and structure. But it happens even so.

We have all experienced more than our fair share of change over the past twenty months. The things we once felt sure would last forever haven’t, or at least not face many upheavals have seen major shifts. This can leave us all feeling a bit shaken, unsure, frustrated, and even angry. Most of us could never have imagined seeing people strike out at each other for the reasons we have. Relationships are bogged down by disagreements at increasing rates. There have been a large number of demonstrations and riots for various reasons which have resulted in furthering the divide between people.

We can feel unseen and unheard, uncared for, and unloved when those we’ve known for years shift away from us. Consistency can be blown away by the winds of fluctuating ideologies, political storms, opinions, causes.

What is the answer? The changes of life seem to be on a fast track to who knows where. Is it even possible to find balance whether back to the old—which many people would say should never happen—or a new normal—which many people dread? Is the hope for consistency lost forever?

The Answer is the same as it was in the past, it is now, and it will be in the future.

God has not changed.

He is not some uninvolved, separated being who watches from afar.

He cares. He is the same God who set our world in the right place in space. He is the same Christ who paid the price for our sin through His death, burial, and resurrection. He is the same Lord who still desires a deep relationship with us today as He did with His children in the time when David, Joseph, Abraham, Esther, Paul, or Mary walked this earth.

God tells us in Malachi 3:6 of His unchanging nature as He does James 1:17.

God has had a goal from the beginning. Job 42:2 and Proverbs 16:4 assure us of this truth. Nothing slips by Him. Nothing is a surprise to Him. Nothing shocks Him or catches Him off guard. He doesn’t sleep through any circumstances (Psalm 121:4-5). He doesn’t grow weary trying to keep up with our ever-changing world (Isaiah 40:28).

If we put our trust for stability in what is around us, we will find ourselves struggling to climb an unfathomable mountain of sand.

But as we cling to the One we know will never change, we can place our faith in His plans, His strength, and His sovereignty.

When troubles and evil seem to be growing in power, when fear and anxiety rise based on what we see around us, when sadness for loss takes up room deep within, may we lift our eyes to who God is (Psalm 121:1, Exodus 34:5-7) and rest in God’s unchanging character (Hebrews 13:8). Breathe in His life-giving breath. He’s got this.

Photo credit: Unsplash-Jakob Owens