Yesterday, Today, and Forever [Devotion]

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

The sameness or perfect consistency of God’s character is a theme we see throughout scripture. From Numbers 23:19a “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind…”, to Malachi 3:6, “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.”, to James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”, and beyond scripture is clear on the fact that God will always be who He always has been!

So why is that important? Why is it so essential that we know God doesn’t change? Well it has a lot to do with faith.

I love the way that Dr. Voddie Baucham put it in his talk, “Why I Choose to Believe the Bible.” He says, “If God wanted blind faith why did He provide, preserve, and protect for us His self revelation in the Bible so that we would know who He is? He doesn’t want us to have blind faith. He wants us to know who He is and trust Him based on the consistency of His character.” That last phrase right there is key, “…trust Him based on the consistency of His character.” The reason it is so important for us to know that God doesn’t change is we can trust His ability and willingness to accomplish His will over time (Isaiah 46:8-11). We don’t have to worry about God suddenly changing His mind. As He says in Malachi 3:6, “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” God specifically tells them they are still around because, despite the fact they’ve followed idols, God does not change! Yes He brought judgement on them but He did not allow them to be totally destroyed because God was faithful in His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

By the same token we can trust that God will always be who He is. We may change but He does not. As a result His word will stand. Understanding this we can know that those who receive the Son are His adopted children forever (Ephesians 1:5) and that those who do not receive the Son will suffer God’s wrath (John 3:36). I don’t say this lightly but in order to draw the attention of those who are in Christ to the fact that God’s consistency means that no matter how they feel He will never leave or forsake them (Joshua 1:9) even in the face of their mistakes (2 Timothy 2:11-13). But for those who are not in Christ I hope that this shows them that God’s character as a righteous judge will lead to their punishment (James 2:10 & John 12:47-50). But again because God is faithful those who have rejected Him can have hope in Christ if they turn to Him! (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 & Acts 16:31)

So remember, whatever may change in the world around you God never does! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever and because of that He will not fail in His promises or in His care for His people.

I’ve included the link to the talk “Why I Choose to Believe the Bible” which I referenced earlier. It is well worth a watch.