God doesn't change

I am working my way through a great book by Jen Wilkin called None Like Him: 10 Ways God is Different Than Us (And Why That’s a Good Thing).  One of the ways God is different than us is that he is immutable. He doesn’t change.  To illustrate her point, the author describes a mountain peak in New Mexico and how every morning she looks at that mountain peak. While seasons may alter the mountain face, the mountain itself remains an “unchanging silhouette enduring across time.”  

This concept brought to mind an old homestead cabin in Grand Teton National Park, the Cunningham Cabin. The cabin is all that is remaining of a homestead built in the 1880s and has a magnificent view of the Teton mountain range. Life was so different when the cabin was built.  Everything from daily chores like tending to crops and cattle, preparing meals, and doing laundry to communicating with neighboring homesteads, obtaining world news, and traveling has improved significantly in the past 200+ years. Think of events that have occurred since that cabin was built - storms, wars, elections, viruses, scientific discoveries. When you walk through the remains of the old cabin you can really get a feel for the way things where and how things have changed.  But guess what isn’t any different today? The mountain range itself has not changed.
So, the good news is that God does not change.  God’s promises do not change. The truth of Scripture does not change. God’s plans for us do not change.  Despite what is going on in our lives at this moment - the current storms, wars, viruses, and elections - we know that our heavenly Father is good and is in control.  He knows what He is doing.  In fact, He already knows the election results.  Romans 13:1 says, “… there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”   He places people in positions of authority for His purposes, whether those people believe in Him or not.  God’s great plan is not going to change because of whoever is elected to office in 2020. In fact, God’s great plan involves whoever is elected to office in 2020.  So while we don’t have to understand what He is doing or why He is doing it, we can rest in His promises and let Him be in control. That kind of takes a little pressure off, doesn’t it?

“…There is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, ‘Look! This is something new’? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.  There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.” Ecclesiastes 1:9b-11


Ecclesiastes says there is nothing new under the sun.  We, self-centered humans that we are, tend to think our situations are new. Bigger. Better than ever before.  Or worse than ever before. But really, none of it is new.  Read the Bible and you will see that humans just repeat history.  If you study the beginnings of our own country, you learn that our founding fathers set up our government knowing there would always be strife and contention.  When you look at our country’s history, there has always been turmoil, whether it is internal politics or external wars.  There is nothing new under the sun.  God has seen it all before. He has a plan, and His plan won’t change. He sent his Son down to die for our sins, for our redemption.  He won’t change his mind about our salvation.  We will spend eternity in heaven with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  That’s not going to be altered because of politics in Washington DC.

Instead of losing hope in mankind and the current state of affairs, think about God who, like a mountain, has not changed.  Take a step back and look up. Get away from the noise and really view the unchanging scenery.

“The raging of the nations can be navigated only by keeping a fixed point in view: The Lord God seated on his throne.”
-Jen Wilkin

Pattie Rosson

2 Comments


Kathi Franklin - November 4th, 2020 at 9:42pm

Thank you very much for your blog post, needed to hear this message.

Susan - November 4th, 2020 at 11:14pm

Wise words, my friend. Thank you.