Monday, November 17, 2008

Living with Constancy among Shifting Shadows

We live in a world that is so transient, things are always changing - fads, trends, technologies, the way we live life, moral values, stock market.. basically everything. In a year or less, we will see so much change that perhaps in the centuries past people saw in their lifetime. How do we maintain our stability in our lives when everything is changing like shifting shadows around us?
James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

The Bible says that our God is One who does not change like shifting shadows. Just like how children feel secure with parents of consistent behaviour, we too can feel secure knowing that the God we worship is constant and unchanging! Let us look at some unchanging immutable charcateristics of God!

God is unchanging in His character: God is always present; His knowledge is always complete; His power is always unlimited. His justice is unchanging, for He is righteous in everything He does. He requires holiness of his people because He Himself is always holy. The Bible affirms that God is good, that His faithfulness endures to all generations and that He loves His children with an everlasting (immutable) love and He continually pours out his mercy upon humankind.
Malachi 3:6
I the LORD do not change.
Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last because He is unchanging!

God is unchanging in His purpose: Just as God's nature is immutable, so are His plans and purposes. The Lord has promised to bring people into relationship with himself. In the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we see the fulfillment of this plan so that people have a way to come back into relationship with Christ. The Lord’s unchanging purposes are also personal.
Psalm 138:8
The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me; Your love, O LORD, endures forever— do not abandon the works of Your hands.

While we are free to make choices, God still accomplishes His own intentions and can work out all circumstances for our good according to His purposes!
Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails. 

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.


God is unchanging in His promises:God’s nature is consistent, it follows that His promises are also consistent as He does not break his word. Rather, his immutability necessitates fulfillment of His promises.
Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change his mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?

2 Corinthians 1:20
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.


How do you feel when situations around you change? Do not be afraid, instead trust in Him and rest in His constancy as He is unchanging. Rely on His Unchanging Character, Purpose and Promises! Let Him be the Everlasting Rock upon whom you can stand! The better we know Him as the immutable God, the more we shall be able to trust Him and hold on to Him for stability and strength when everything around us is changing.
Psalm 18:2
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

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