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Sep 21, 2019 08:00am

Three Aspects of the Unchanging God

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Sadness wrenched through my heart like a knife stabbing into my chest. A lump swelled in my throat and I tried to swallow it down, but it didn’t want to budge. As I drove through my little hometown, the vast changes were hard to take in.

No longer were the doors open to the store we used to visit when we were kids. Mom would pull up and we would run in barefoot. Mrs. Margaret would slice us up some ham and cheese and we would scan the candy rack for the best selections.

Old man Massey’s building at the four-way had come down too; the place where he would sit on the porch hours upon hours each day. I was always a little afraid of him. You know kids, always telling stories about how dangerous and creepy people are. But he had given me a coloring book one time, so I guess that meant we could be friends.

I turned onto the old gravel road headed towards home and realized, that was different now too. Chicken houses had been built and the beautiful trees that had once created a canopy over the dirt road were now gone.

I remember taking walks with my mom down to Alf’s old house just up the road and picking apples off a tree. The house had been abandoned for years, so we were able to snag a few here and there once they were ripe. Now, there were new owners of the land; a house had been built and even more chicken houses to accompany it.

The creek we played in each summer that flooded in the spring, was now a trickle of a stream that flowed through a pipe under the new section of road to bear the weight of the heavy chicken trucks. We used to wade through that creek with our cousins, having all kinds of adventures. Exploring and playing pretend as we weaved our ways through brush, water, and rocks.

Nothing was the same.

While there’s much of my past that I’m glad has changed, some of those memories are worth hanging on to. The changes that had occurred made me long for something more constant. And then I remembered there is one thing that will never change – the love of God.

Psalm 102:27 says God’s “years shall have no end.”

How can we be sure that God won’t change His mind? I mean, I’ve given Him plenty of reasons to turn away from me, to not forgive me, to not even hear my prayers. So how can I know for certain?

Here are three aspects of his nature that are unchanging:

#1 – He is Merciful!

Lamentations 3:22-23: “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore, will I hope in him.”

Let me break it down. God is God. He is the all-powerful and Creator of all. He is also a righteous judge. In order to be righteous, He must execute judgment and punishment on sin. We allsin! Let me say it again for those in the back . . . WE ALL SIN! Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” First John 1:8 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

He can’t just let our sin slide. He can’t just sweep it under the rug and pretend like it didn’t happen. There has to be payment for our sins.

Jesus paid our debt.

He did so by giving His life as a sacrifice for us. Therefore, we are now able to approach God for forgiveness through faith. And He is GRACIOUS to forgive us. So, every day, we do something that should warrant His wrath upon us and his mighty hand consuming us. Yet, because of grace, because His compassion towards us never fails, we have mercy each day!

#2 – He is Faithful!

First John 1:19:“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Faithful. When we think about being faithful, we think about devotion, commitment, vows that are not to be broken. God is faithful to His commitment to us. He has promised that if we trust in Him, if we confess our sins to Him, he will save us. And nothing, nothing, can separate us from His love! Romans 8:38-39 “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

#3 – His Kingdom is Eternal!

First John 2:16: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”

Our life is but a vapor. James 4:14 “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vaniseth away.” The things of this world that seem so tempting, so satisfying in the moment, they will all pass away. None of it will last. But, the love of God, the relationship we have with Him, the fruit of our labor… that will last forever!

He is constant. He won’t wither or fade like my hometown.

From beginning to end, He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He is mighty and majestic! He will not fail you or forsake you. He will not disappoint or disinherit you. He has loved you with an unconditional heart. But we have to CHOOSE to follow Him.

Aren’t you tired of being let down all the time?

Aren’t you saddened by the constant change of this world?

Don’t you want something secure?

My heart longed for it, and I searched it out in many different ways throughout my life, realizing each time the worthlessness of each thing.

Only Jesus Christ, the living Son of God, is worthy!

Surrender your life to the unchanging God today!

by Yalanda Merrell