Does God Ever Change?

‘Every good gift comes from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like drifting shadows.’ James 1:17

It is a comforting thought…that God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He will react to every like situation in the same way. He will never change His precepts or commands. God will never surprise us in any action He takes.

Perhaps we assume too much. Are we putting God in a box when we say He will never change at all? Or are we giving Him His due credit, for being consistant in a world of inconsistancy?

God’s ways are way above ours. And His thoughts are much higher. There is so much more about Him that we do not know or understand. He has not revealed all of Who He is. There is no reason for Him to do so.  One day we will have a gleaning of the enormity of His being, but in this life we must be content with what knowledge He has provided to us.

This life is full of changes. Some are good. Growing up, getting married, having children. Lifestyle changes, but generally they are known to bring great joy. That perfect job, the nice home, the vacations we can’t wait to take. Finding the right house of worship, and finding Christ…these are all changes that are good.

Some other changes are not so good. The death of a loved one, our declining health as we age, a sudden lack of financial resources, a friendship gone sour. These are certainly not good changes. But they often are a part of our lives.

Some change can be circumvented, to a degree. Take for example our health. As we age, we know that we are more susceptable to certain illnesses and conditions. And we have learned from medical science that if we take care of ourselves when we are younger, we will generally be able to age much more gracefully, with fewer critical health concerns.

But the fact that we do age cannot be avoided. It is a part of life. We are born, we grow up, we age, and we eventually will decline until we reach death. Sounds terrible, doesn’t it? But the crux of this matter is this…how will we handle the changes that we cannot escape?

With grace, with mercy, and with love, we will learn to adapt to change, and to survive. We have gifts from God that make it possible to enjoy each stage of our lives, despite the changes we either endure or enjoy. His Word is full of advice and wisdom to teach us to handle the change that will come, no matter what path we may walk. But the closer to Him we remain, the better equipped we will be to deal with change. And why is that? Because He never changes Himself. He is consistantly God.  By leaning on Him, and facing change, we grow, we learn, we increase our faith. We see that change is something we need, and that God uses it to sharpen us, to train us, to help us.

So, do we truly believe that God will never change? In anything? In any way? Of course. Because He has told us that He will not change, we can depend on His Word. He is not a man, so He cannot lie. He is not devious, so He will never trick us. He is God. Our God. And He is good, always good, from the beginning of time, till the very end of it. But He is also the God of change, change that is applied to life on earth. And the greatest change is yet to come, our change from this life to the next. It will be the most wonderful change of all!

‘Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—‘ 1 Corinthians 15:51

Blessings!