Constant

This morning I was watching the sun rise, and was again struck by the fact that God is a faithful and constant God who never changes or goes back on His Word. In the book of Genesis we read that as long as the earth remains, certain unchangeable laws are in place. The sun will rise every morning and will go down every night. Seasons of summer, winter, spring and autumn will continue, and with it the changes and cycles each season brings to the earth.

The fact that God is constant and true to His Word has been a great comfort in my life. I can count on Him to always be who He said He is, and to do what He said He would do. The reality is that my human understanding of these facts is sometimes coloured by the circumstances I find myself in. When I find myself in a time of difficulty, and don’t see the breakthrough and answers to my prayers, it may cause me to feel unsettled and to question my understanding of God.

I’ve come to realise that we can run the risk of having certain expectations of God, creating in our minds a picture of who we think God is, and what we think He should be doing, or not doing. We may have a measure of truth about God from His Word, but when we find ourselves in certain life challenges, and God does not ‘deliver’ according to our expectations of how God should act, we feel disappointed or angry with Him, or look inward and blame ourselves for not performing well enough to deserve God’s help.

God can do things quickly and suddenly, and nothing is impossible for Him. However, more often than not, God builds slowly and thoroughly, and at His own pace. Everything that bears good fruit will take time to grow and mature and come to completion. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, ‘“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts”’. Our perspective of life here on earth is limited. We know in part and see in part (1 Corinthians 13:9), but God has 20/20 vision and perfect perspective, and His plans are always good plans to prosper us (Jeremiah 29:11).

I guess it all boils down to our relationship with this wonderful, loving God. When we grow to know Him - who He is and how He feels about us – we’ll learn to trust Him, even when we don’t see His hand at work according to our human expectations. He’s a compassionate God who cares deeply about the details of our lives. He’s constant and true to His character and His Word. He can take circumstances that the enemy meant for evil and turn them around for His glory (see Genesis 50:20). Be encouraged today to trust God, and not to lean on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:6). He’s constant, unchanging, utterly trustworthy, and has perfect perspective of the bigger picture of your life.

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, that You’re the same yesterday, today and forever. Thank You that I can count on Your constant truth and unchanging character. I choose to submit to Your ways and to trust that Your thoughts concerning me are always loving and for my good. Amen.