Hearing His Voice #194

Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. As the Scriptures say, . . . “The grass withers and the flower fades. But the word of the Lord remains forever.”

1 Peter 1:23-25

God doesn’t speak transient words. He has enough foresight not to say something that isn’t going to prove true. He knows the effects His words will have, and who will and won’t accept them, and He speaks them with full knowledge of their impact. He offers us eternal life through words that won’t pass away, and He makes promises knowing they will come to pass if we believe them. He doesn’t speak things He will regret or take back. When He speaks, He speaks with the authority of permanence.

That doesn’t mean God never adds to His words or tells us we haven’t lived up to them. He does that at times in Scripture, giving the impression that He can change His mind—or at the very least, redirect the specific details of His overall purposes. But though God may allow people to disqualify themselves from experiencing His truth, He doesn’t change His truth. He doesn’t reject His own words. He declares His will without reservation.

That means if God said something yesterday, we don’t have to ask Him to say it again today. We don’t need to worry about whether His promises still apply or if He has changed His mind about the good things He is doing in our lives. When He has given us a long-term vision, we don’t need to ask about short-term visions that are inconsistent with it. He isn’t a wishy-washy God who keeps changing His mood and retracting rash statements. His words endure. His purposes are eternal, and His words to us are based in those purposes. Whatever He tells us will endure.

Eternal God, the words You spoke to me years ago are still true, even long after I’ve forgotten them or chosen to neglect them. And the words You speak to me today will not fade away. I trust them—for as long as it takes to see them come to pass.