THE UNCHANGING GOD

Text: Heb. 13:8, 6: 9-20

Many times believers start out on a particular endeavour or action based on the instruction received or conviction from God. But along the line when challenges come up, we tend to forget where we are coming from and continue to lead our lives based on circumstances around us just like unbelievers would do. Irrespective of how things turn out in the course of our lives, we must bring to mind where we started from and realise that God is still with us. Even if you think the initial choice was a wrong one, we must know that God is with us in any circumstances that we face (Isa. 49:14-16). A good example to illustrate this is the marriage institution. Many believers go into a marriage relationship based on a conviction from the Word of God. But when faced with challenges in the course of the marriage, they tend to look outside the Word of God for solutions. We must learn to look unto God for comfort during our crisis moments. This is because when God gives us a Word concerning a situation, He does not change His mind along the line and we can always go back to His word whenever there are challenges.

In Heb. 6:9-13, we see a character of God which is His consistency in keeping His word. Whether it concerns general promises of God in scripture or specific word that are spoken by God to us, God is faithful to keeping them. For instance, when scripture says we have been forgiven, or that we have been healed or that we have been blessed; we must believe that is exactly what God has done, because He is not a man that He should tell a lie nor repent from His word (2Cor. 1:20, Num 23:19). Human beings can make promises and later back down on the promises just because the circumstances have changed or when they do not have the resources to fulfil them. But in the case of God, it is not so because whenever God makes a promise, He already made provisions to bring it to pass. He is always faithful and true to His word. The promises of God as we see in scriptures are not ordinary pronouncements, but rather,

they are God-breathed and we can stake our lives on them (2 Tim.3:16). Irrespective of the peculiar situation we believers may go through, we must bear in mind that God’s word concerning us does not change. The right question to ask is: has God said anything about this situation or what is God saying about this situation? Then stay focused on what God has said because therein lies the solution to that problem. God’s word is ever-dependable.

 We can see from the passage above how God related with Abraham concerning His promises to him. The word spoken by God to Abraham could have been enough for him, but God had to swear by Himself to Abraham since there was no one greater that he could swear by, in other to show the extent of His commitment to keeping His promise. It is not because if He did not swear He would not do it, but to convince Abraham. He made a promise to Abraham and it came to pass, even though it took a long while as man could not fathom why it was so, but it came to pass as God had promised at the right and appropriate time. God is ever faithful and does not waver (2 Tim.2:13). He is ever the same and true (Heb13:8). Man could be subject to change due to situation and circumstances or environment, making him go back on his words but nothing can change God’s mind as touching His words. Faith is not seeing God as means to get things done but rather it is the absolute trust/believe in the Person of God, His sovereignty, His might and loving nature, knowing that He is eternally committed to us as our Father.

In Heb11 there is an account of some people that walked with God in faith. These are people who took actions based solely on the instructions given to them by God. Despite the fact that majority of them never had any precedence to guide them in the actions that they took, yet they held on to God’s word and accomplished tasks set before them. For instance, by faith Abel was able to offer a more acceptable sacrifice to God (vs.4), Enoch pleased God and was translated into Heaven without seeing death (vs.5-6), Noah received instructions to build an ark even though it had never rained before (vs.7) and Abraham was instructed by God to leave where he was, to go to the place He would show him and Abraham went not knowing where he was

going, but he trusted the person of God, His words and instructions. In Heb11:17-19 God instructed Abraham to go and offer up Isaac, the only son on whom God’s promise was hinged, but Abraham concluded in his heart that God is able to raise him up.

This kind of implicit trust in God as demonstrated by these heroes of faith is what is expected of us believers. Even though in our daily experiences, we go through things that question the presence and the ability of God in our lives, we must realise that God’s mind about us does change. Believers do not experience the power of God in our daily experience simply because we do not trust God for His word. For instance, many people find it difficult to believe in eternal salvation because they do not believe that the death of Jesus Christ is enough sacrifice to pay for their past, present and future sins, as we see from scriptures (Heb.7:25-27, 9:12). We must learn to believe that whatever God’s word says about us is true and not subject to change based on our performance. We start experiencing the victory and blessings we long for when we begin to appreciate those things that are true about us (Phlm1:6, Rom.6:14). When we place our troubles and fears side by side with God’s word, our problems become insignificant in the sight of God’s word (2 Tim.1:7). It is not our responsibility to rationalise how God intends to accomplish what He has promised. He is ever faithful and ever true.

Conclusion

Irrespective of what we go through we must not lose focus on God’s word and promises. God is unchanging; He does not repent on His words. If He says He has done it, then that is how it is. Faith is the only thing that pleases God. Nothing is impossible to a man full of faith in God. We must cultivate a lifestyle of trusting God daily, even in mundane things. We should remind ourselves daily of God’s unchanging love, His unchanging presence in our lives and His unchanging Grace.