An Unchanging God

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

What a whirlwind the last few weeks have been in my life! Major life changes and celebrations. We have cheered my daughter on as she walked across the stage at her college graduation and witnessed her sacred wedding vows and marriage covenant all within a matter of days. Being a fairly reflective person, I have savored the moments and tried to enjoy them while holding onto them, all the while wondering at how fleeting life is and how quickly the days pass into weeks, months, and years.

Was it not just yesterday when I was a little girl with my blonde hair blowing in the wind as I toddled into waves on the Georgia coast? Was it not just yesterday as an adolescent that I confided in my journal all my hopes and dreams? Was it not just yesterday that I held my child as a newborn nestled against my chest? Was it not just yesterday that she took her first steps and said her first words? Was it not just yesterday when I watched her blossom from a girl into a young woman? Did she not just graduate high school, holding the world in her hands? Somehow, half a lifetime has passed in what seems like a matter of moments. And everything changes.

I now have a son-in-law. What a strange and beautiful thought! I grew up watching my grandmother love my father like one of her own sons, and now I recognize the blessing she bestowed upon me by that and the lesson she taught me on how to love as one of my own sons this man who my daughter married. When you choose to have a large family, you don’t realize at the time that one day, your family will continue to multiply in size with your heart right alongside it. Son-in-law–it sounds so official and makes me feel so old.

God reminded me of what the prophet Isaiah penned in Isaiah 46:4, “I will be the same until your old age, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will bear you and save you.” Growing older is a gift. I can glance back through the years at my life and see the fingerprints of God along the way. There is much I would choose to do differently and more than once I have wished for a do-over. Alas, this is not the way of God. Every experience in my life, if surrendered to God, He can redeem and restore and use for fulfilling the purposes He has ordained for my life. God has never abandoned nor forsaken me, nor will He. What a testimony of His goodness and what a Savior! I love the comfort in the promise that He will be the same in my old age, and He will be my strength as I grow older.

This morning I was reading the praise, blessing, and prayer of King Solomon at the temple dedication in 2 Chronicles 6. Repeatedly, King Solomon expressed to God how He kept what He had promised. It struck me as I was reading it–God is faithful to keep His promises. It is a truth I know in my mind and could claim without thinking of the impact and power of what it actually means. King Solomon recounted the various times and ways in which God had kept the promises He gave to his father, David. “So Yahweh has fulfilled what He has promised” (v.10). No one on earth will ever fulfill or keep every promise they ever made. We are faulted and flawed humans. But the God of the Bible, the God Solomon praised for keeping His promises, He is the same yesterday and today and tomorrow and all of our tomorrows. Jesus fulfills His promises to us. He will carry us as we journey through every season and struggle of life. He will not leave us to our own devices. He will be our shield, our refuge, our safe haven, our salvation, our friend, our brother, our protector. He will “soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20).

Some seasons of life feel like change is constant. Right now, in my life, I am trying to navigate changing relationships with adult children while also guiding the ones still at home. As they become more independent and step into what God has designed for them, it has left me wondering at what’s next for me. More than ever, I needed to read the words of King Solomon that Yahweh fulfilled what He had promised. I need to cling to and believe that God still has a plan for me, even as I grow older and step into the next seasons and stages of my life. As things shift, roles adapt, and we often wrestle with how we fit into the new cycles and versions of life around us. There are moments when it can feel like we have become obsolete. Perhaps that is when we most need the reminder that Jesus carried us to this point and He will keep His promises. God’s faithfulness knows no bounds. He is not limited in His faithfulness capacity. With every shifting season of life, I pray that I am growing upwards towards Him. We need to adjust our perspective on aging. Each day I live is one day closer to being in the presence of my Savior and my best friend.

Until that day comes for each of us, let’s treasure the gift of today and do something that will matter in eternity. Testify to the gospel of God’s grace. Only you, and only I, know the faithfulness God has manifested in our own individual lives. Share it–for you and I never could expect who needs to hear our stories and the accounts of God’s great faithfulness and unchanging nature. Jesus Christ is, in fact, the same yesterday, today, and forever, just as He has said in His Word. Anchor down in that truth today and trust Him. Spread the good news!

Blessings!