This summer my husband and I went to his high school reunion. We both attended the same high school, but It had been a very long time since we had visited. Every time we go, I always want to take a tour of our old neighborhoods and downtown Port Arthur. Though I have done this before, this time it was very impactful. The first place we went was to Griffin Park to see the home I grew up in. it’s a wood frame house originally built in the 1930s or 40s, and it appeared to be barely holding together. I was sad but I guess I was glad it was still there—my husband’s home had been torn down years ago along with all the nearby houses on the seawall downtown. On our tour, we also observed that our church had been demolished and the downtown area was radically different. It was fun to think of places we shopped and frequented many times. I tried to find my dad’s old office, but I couldn’t find it or even recognize any of the once-familiar surroundings. Ken and I graduated in the 60’s and much has changed in more than fifty years. Amazingly, though, things are frozen in time in my mind, especially those wonderful memories of our lives growing up in Port Arthur.
It can be a little unsettling to be confronted with how fluid life is. You cannot depend on things always being the same on this earth. Consider the contrast, though, with our Lord. In Hebrews 13:8, the author wrote, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” James 1:17 comments on God’s unchanging nature when he marvels, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
God has given us many promises in His Word about His everlasting nature—promises that confirm His unchanging love. In Psalm 103:17 David reminds us, “But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children.” Not only does He assure us of His love for us but also for our children’s children. What a blessing and beautiful promise.
Now as we consider the eternality of God and His Son Jesus Christ and the love of God we also can depend on the lasting Words of God. Isaiah 40:8 tells us that the things of this world will pass away but not His Word. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” Also, in Hebrews chapter 1 we read,
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”?… 8 But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you…” And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; 11 they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, 12 like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.”
As I read these verses I am encouraged and inspired; I trust in Him, He is the unchanging creator of heaven and earth. I know that my time on this earth is limited and I am responsible to be a good steward of my time, talents, and money. I am not discouraged by change or the effects of aging on my body. But I am anxious to be in on whatever God has planned for me. My hope is in Him. In Jeremiah 29:11, we are told “’For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’” And then there is Romans 8:28, one of my favorite verses, which reminds me God is in control, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” On this subject, Tony Evans declares in God Is Up To Something Great, “God says, ‘I have the plans. Don’t go looking for plans; look for Me. I know where I put them. You find Me, you’ll find the plans.”
Dear Holy Father, I am thankful that you are unchanging. I can depend on you and trust in your love and your Word of Truth. Help me keep my eyes on you and not on this ever-changing world. Direct my every step; I want to be obedient to your plans. Reveal to me through your Word daily what I am to be involved in. My hope is in you.
In Jesus’s Almighty Name, Amen.
