Morning By Morning #307

I the LORD do not change.

Malachi 3:6

From the pen of Charles Spurgeon:

Amid all the changeableness of life, it is good to know there is One whom change does not, and cannot, affect; One whose heart will never change; and One whose brow the changes of life will never furrow. Everything else in the universe changes, for even the sun itself eventually will grow dim with age and “the earth will wear out like a garment” (Isa. 51:6). The rolling up of them “like a [worn-out] robe” (Heb. 1:12) has already commenced; soon “heaven and earth will pass away” (Matt. 24:35); and “they will perish,…they will all wear out like a garment” (Ps. 102:26). But there is One who has immortality, One whose years will never end, and One whose character will never change.

The delight a sailor feels when setting foot on solid ground after having been tossed by the waves for many days is the security a Christian has amid all the changes of this trouble-filled life, when he sets his foot of faith upon this truth: “I the LORD do not change.” The stability an anchor gives a ship in the harbor is like the stability a Christian’s hope provides him when it is fixed upon this glorious truth: “The Father of the heavenly lights…does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17).

The attributes of God in days of old are still His today. His power, wisdom, justice, and truth are all unchanged. He has always been “a refuge in times of trouble” (Nah. 1:7) for His people, and He is still their helper. His love has never changed, for He has loved His people “with an everlasting love” (Jer. 31:3). He loves us as much now as He ever did, and when everything on earth has melted away in the final flaming inferno, His love will still be adorned with “the dew of [its] youth” (Ps. 110:3).

How precious is the assurance that “the LORD do[es] not change”! Yes, the wheel of His sovereignty still turns, but its axle is eternal love.

Death and change are busy ever,

Man decays, and ages move;

But His mercy waneth never;

God is wisdom, God is love.

John Bowring, 1792 – 1872

From the pen of Jim Reimann:

“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?” (Num. 23:19). Thus, in light of the truth of today’s devotion that “the LORD do[es] not change,” we see that He does not change His mind either. What a blessing that is!

Imagine if that were not true. What if the Lord reneged on His promises, such as: “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37) and “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb. 13:5)?

Although there may be times when we desire to change God’s mind, we should understand that His sovereignty will always stand and His way is always best. Remember His words: “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:9).

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8).