HEBREWS 13:8 – “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
THEME OF THE DAY: OUR ANCHOR IN LIFE’S STORMS. We are fragile people. We easily break emotionally. We experience ever-changing feelings. We know what it is like to be moody, and often times our emotions change suddenly. One minute we are feeling happy and at peace, then a sudden trying circumstance comes into our lives and we are in the pit of doubt and discouragement. Change defines us, and not always in a good light. And when it comes to our spiritual condition, we must guard against a faith driven by emotions and circumstances instead of God’s truth. If we are living out our walks with the Lord by feelings, emotions and circumstances, our spiritual lives are like a roller coaster at an amusement park – up, down, and all around.
Another consequence of a spiritual life lived by feelings, emotions, and circumstances is we may view God as changing and unstable as we are. For instance, when we are not “on top of our game” as Christians, maybe a little backslidden, we may think God is temperamental and angry at us. We would be tempted to think He treats us based on our performance as Christians instead of our never-changing position in Christ. And that sentence leads to today’s scripture.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. What does that mean for us in the day-to-day grind of the Christian life. At least three things . . .
The unchanging nature of the Lord Jesus means His love for us is constant and steadfast – “The LORD appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you” (Jeremiah 31:3). The Lord loves us, will continue to love, will never stop loving us, and His love has nothing to do with our conduct. That doesn’t mean that we should presume upon His love. It means that we should adore His love. God is love, and being unchanging, He will always be love.
A second encouragement from the unchanging nature of our Lord is that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). His commitment to be our companion now and forever is sure. He will not or cannot deny Himself. Despite our always failing performance as His children, His Presence with us is unchanging now and forever.
Finally, the unchanging nature of our Lord Jesus means every promise of His will be fulfilled. Why? His unchanging nature means He cannot lie – “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began” (Titus 1:1-2).
In those many times of mood shifts, emotional upheaval, and just the fragility of being human, we must let the truth of our unchanging Lord override the strong temptation to live by feelings versus faith. As we renew our minds in His truth, we will learn to control, not be controlled by our emotions, moods or circumstances.
PRAYER: Lord, thank You that You never change and that I can place my trust in this glorious truth.
REFLECTION: The Lord is always the same and His ways are far above our ways. To imagine Him to be too much like us will lead us to doubt Him.