What a blessing it is to hear from Jennifer Epperson today! You can learn a bit about her on our contributors page.
Recently, while reading through a book I haven’t read in several years, I found a picture tucked in between the pages. I have no idea why that picture is in there. It wasn’t used as a bookmark because there’s a ribbon sewn into the book for that purpose. I
t’s a picture of my parents with baby me at about six months old. As I looked at that picture, I was struck by how much we have changed since 1985. I’m not that same little baby. I don’t look the same, I don’t act the same, and I don’t have the same limited knowledge and same physical limitations.
Not only am I not the same person I was at six months, but I am also not the same as I was at five years or twelve years or twenty-one years or thirty years or even thirty-eight years. Really, the truth is that we all change over time—sometimes for the better and sometimes not.
We’re God’s opposite in this regard. It’s one of the MANY things that sets us apart from Him. We ebb and flow. We go up and down and in and out and forward and backward. He doesn’t grow and change, but we do—and hopefully we grow closer to Him rather than further from Him.
In fact, we are supposed to be changing to be more like Him. Ephesians 4:23-24 says, “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” We’re not meant to stay the same. Change is a necessary part of the growing process for Christians.
On the other hand, there’s no variableness with God. James 1:17 reminds us that every good and perfect gift comes from our good and perfect unchanging God. He isn’t subject to change on a whim. He also doesn’t grow and learn and get better. He has no need to become more wise, more loving, more long-suffering, or more holy.
He’s steadfast and constant because He is perfect. When I consider that phrase “neither shadow of turning,” I love the idea that there’s not a hint of changing with Him. He doesn’t even turn slightly from Who He is. John 1:5 tells us, “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all”—not even a shadow of turning.
When our circumstances change—because of loss, career changes, family growth, finances, etc.—or when people around us change in all the wrong ways, we must remember that the One Who holds us and keeps us does not change.
His immutability brings us hope. We can trust that He will not leave or forsake us because He said He wouldn’t, and He does not change His mind or go back on His word. We know that what He does for us is good and perfect because He is ALWAYS good and perfect.
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