Hello Travel Companion!

December is here and already upon us. The end of the year, just around the corner. Truly, I’m not so sure where most of this year went. I pray your Christmas season isn’t stressed but blessed with the time you get to spend with family and remembrance of the greatest gift we have from God: His Son Jesus. Who came not just to be born, but so He could die for us.

This plan was from the beginning and never changed, but each piece carefully revealed in the passing of time, reiterated throughout the generations. Neither has this plan been fully accomplished for He has yet to return and restore all things, but neither will it change, just as the God who created this marvelous plan cannot change.

So come on and jump right in with me!

God is Immutable

Who is God? What makes Him immutable?

I change. I’ve changed a lot over the 30 years of my life. My body changed with womanhood. My face changed with a jaw surgery. My likes and dislikes have changed, for which I based my GED essay off: that people do change, because I used to dislike #2 pencils and hoodies yet now they are both dearly loved.

But God does not change. His glory is still the same. He still sounds the same. His intentions and plans are still the same. The things that please and displease Him are all still the same.

I've struggled with this because I bought into the lie that the God in the Old Testament is more wrathful than the God of the New Testament who seems more loving and gentle. But one thing I see in common throughout the whole book is the same plan:

God made everything good. Because of sin the world was cast under a curse and doomed to die. Nothing we do can ever save us. So Jesus voluntarily came, died for us, and rose again, so He could save and restore us to Himself. At the end of all things will be the destruction of every wicked thing and the renewal of every good thing.

When and/or where do I see evidence of this characteristic in my life?

God’s plan and intention has never changed. Before the creation of the world, God already had a plan to get from point a to point z. He told us this plan first in Genesis 3:15 (after the fall) in the promise of a savior. However, Adam and Eve and their descendants must live under the curse until the fulfillment of all things.

I first saw this years ago in Paul’s introduction in his letter to the Galatians. I was amazed at how he gave such a clear overview of the gospel. Nothing long and fancy, but simple and straight to the point.

Earlier this year I saw the same plan laid out in Jesus’ parables of the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 13:24-52. Then again and again as I read through Jeremiah, especially chapters 27-31 and the imagery of the Israelites, the captivity, and God’s promise of restoration picturing the larger picture of the fall, the curse we now live under, and God’s promise to redeem everything.

How does this trait affect how God sees me?

In his song Better Because of It Danny Gokey sings: “You can’t understand the pain of your road. He’s in the future, He knows something you don’t. One day, you’ll see, you’ll be on the other side of this, all done with it, better because of it… Everything that you think will break you are the things that He’ll use to make you… Everything that you think will kill you are the things that He’ll use to build you. So you’ll be stronger.”

God knows everything we are going through right now, whether or not we even admit it to ourselves, and He is walking with us through that pain. Yet He does not pull us out of this broken world because He knows what we will become by going through these broken days. He sees the future and the masterpiece we are (Ephesians 2:10) and will become under His guidance.

I believe this is why God allowed the fall to happen, because He knew the end results of the curse would be better than had things remained as they were in the Garden of Eden.

Because of this perspective, what has God done?

Everything. Because God gave us Jesus.

Knowing we could not save ourselves Jesus came. He met us where we were, and provided the means of salvation and return to God. Jesus is the way to heaven (John 14:6). He is the gate by which we enter that way (John 10:9). He is the light that reveals the way (John 14:6). He is the shepherd that guides us in the way (John 10:11). He is the bread that provides for us on the way (John 6:35). He is the vine that sustains us in the way (John 15:1). He is the life that lives in us (John 14:6, Galatians 2:20).

So when life gets hard, we are to lean on Jesus. When we cannot find the way, turn to Jesus. When we are weak and hungry, turn to Jesus. In Him is every solution, every provision, and all our hope. In Him we have everything we need. He is:

How does this new understanding affect my response and how I live my life?

God is still the same.

I have struggled with the concept that once I was saved, I would be perfect. I believed I was supposed to be perfect. I tried to do everything right, say all the right words, have the right attitude. When I messed up badly somebody questioned whether I had ever even been saved. This almost solidified this lie for me, I felt so trapped, so stuck.

Then I learned the truth about God’s love. How He loved me in my sin enough to die for me. How He still loves me even when I mess up. Because Jesus is still standing at the Father’s side, as Timothy Keller explained in a sermon, pointing out to the Father with every sin I commit, “My blood was shed for her.”

I cannot possibly ever be grateful enough to God and His love that is as unchanging as He is, for He is love and “loves us because of who He is” and “He cleans us because He loves us” (Mark Ballenger Redeemed Like David).

What aspect of God are you thankful never changes? Let Him know today.

Until next month when we will tackle how God is jealous.

With love in Christ,

Rachel

​​​

Latest blog post:

All Bible quotations are from the New International Version (NIV) unless otherwise noted.