Our Unchanging God
As we usher in a new year, and a new decade for that matter, I can’t help but think of all the changes that have happened in my life over the past several years. In 2015, I graduated from the Free Lutheran Bible College. In 2016, I graduated from Crown College and began seminary classes. In 2017, Cassie and I got married. In 2018, I began my final year of seminary classes. In 2019, we moved to Pipestone for my internship, and we were blessed to discover that we would be welcoming a baby girl into our family. So many changes in just a few short years!
One of the comments I have most frequently heard leading up the birth of our new baby was: Get ready for your life to drastically change! Although I’m sure this is an accurate description of life with your first baby, I think it’s important to recognize that all of us go through significant changes at different points in our lives, and that change can take many different forms: moving to a new city, starting a new job, losing a loved one, having a baby, graduating from school, getting diagnosed with a chronic illness. These are just a few of the many life changes that we can experience from one year to the next.
Change can often be a good thing, but it can also be a fearful thing causing great stress and anxiety in our lives. Leaving what is familiar and entering the unknown can often be rather daunting. When you experience change in your life, how do you respond? When you look at the future, how do you deal with the “unknowns”?
In Psalm 102:25-27, the psalmist speaks of God as the One who alone is unchanging. He says, “Long ago You established the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; all of them will wear out like clothing. You will change them like a garment, and they will pass away. But You are the same, and Your years will never end.”
Our lives in this world are full of changes, and the world in which we live will one day pass away. Still, our great Creator God remains the same. He is constant and unchanging, and because of Who He is, we can place our trust in Him. As we enter 2020 and consider the many unknown changes that are sure to come with a new year, I encourage you to keep your eyes fixed on the One who is unchanging, as Hebrews 13:8 says: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Intern Seth Moan