The Lord is often described in Scripture as being solid, firm, secure, and unchanging. This world is strongly characterized by its unsteadiness, unpredictability, and ever-changing nature.
David, in Psalm 62:1-2, describes God and His steadiness: “He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.” Fortresses are overtaken, foundations eventually crumble and fall, but the Lord is solid.
Consider Balaam’s discourse to Balak, when he speaks, “God is not man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change his mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?” (Numbers 23:19). The idea that whatever God says, He will do, and what He promises, He will keep is an incredibly rich and important theme throughout scripture from Genesis to Revelation.
In Hebrews 6:17, God is said to have desired to show the “unchangeable character of His purpose” to those He made promises. His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were fulfilled in great and powerful ways. Abraham believed God could and would keep His promises, and he was willing to take his son’s life based on on that belief (Hebrews 11:17-19).
God will never let us down. However, it can be difficult for us when we don’t get the answer from God that we wanted or expected — that is when many people decide that has God failed them. We may feel disappointed, hopeless, or even angry because is seems like God isn’t there for us when when we need Him to be. We should always remember that the answer we need and the answer we want aren’t always the same thing.
We must make sure that our faith and trust are in God Himself, not simply in the blessings He gives us. If our trust is only in what He gives us, we have made His blessings our idol.
Paul had faith in God Himself when he wrote “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day” (2 Timothy 1:12). Paul believed that God both could and would do what was needed.
The verse that may come most quickly to mind when we consider God’s unchangeableness is James 1:17, where God is called the “Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Things all around us change day by day, but we can always count on the Lord as reliable, dependable, and steadfast.
— Stefan Richardson