~At New Year's, we challenge ourselves with resolutions to think about the changes we'd like to make in our lives. It's wonderful to think about those things that don't change- God's constant character... "our Middle C" as Max Lucado puts it.
Unchanging God
Malachi 1:1-4:6 (New book)
"I the Lord do not change." (Malachi 3:6)
Many things in our lives change... and as my friend Brandi would often remind me, this is always either troubling or comforting, depending on where you are at that point. We can be quite uncomfortable with change. This is seen in church through changing hymns and worship styles, different church facilities. But sometimes change is the thing we desire in our prayers. Either way... whether we are at the point of change or the point of desiring constancy, one thing needs to remain in our life... forever, always, all day, every day. God is the center of our life... the one we turn to when things seem unmanageable, unrecognizable, incomprehensible even. God's unchanging character is the comforting home that comforts our souls through the changing years.
Changing Appearance
Proverbs 31:10-31
"Charm can fool you, and beauty can trick you, but a woman who respects the Lord should be praised." (Proverbs 31:30)
God is the same always, but there are other things that people try to put their faith in... one such thing being appearances. And however many times we are told that appearances can be deceiving, the lesson doesn't seem to sink in quite well enough. I love this whole chapter of Proverbs. It actually reminds me of my Baba (grandmother) for two reasons. First, she had a bookmark of this chapter in her Bible which I found after she had died. And also, I really can see her model behavior as a wonderful wife and mother in this verse. As a young girl, you look at magazines and shows and movies, wishing you were the spitting image of all these idolized stars. But charm and beauty fade with time... what remains is the character hidden within each person. What I pray that I may be is a woman who respects the Lord... and I pray that people may see me for that unchanging character hidden within me.
Changing Earth
Revelation 21:1-22:21
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth." (Revelation 21:1)
On that day that we will someday see in the future, we will see a new heaven and a new earth. After a perfectly beautiful day of admiring and appreciating God's creation, I could be somewhat sad that the earth will change. But I know that the God who created this earth will create an even more beautiful earth... all things new. This reminds me of the resurrection fern I also learned of today which appears to die and wither out. But lo and behold, after a good rain, the fern will be revived again. Everything will be new, except for God that is. The Lord is "the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End" (Revelation 21:6). At the end of this year, it is important to remember both the fact that someday in the future the world as we know it will change... but our Lord will not- not at the beginning or end of any year. Amen, Lord... if it be your will, I will awake to the same You every morning.
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