When Does God Change?
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”– Hebrews 13:8
The Consistent God When I grew up in the Church, I noticed that this verse was used to explain that Jesus is
still performing the miracles He used to perform while He was here on Earth, because
He has not changed. This is so very true, praise God. However, this unchangeableness
of Christ has existed way before Jesus took on human form and came to earth. This verse is also an encapsulation of the fact that the God who existed before the foundation of the world was laid, is still the same. God has not changed from way before creation.
Let’s think about that a little bit. It means that way before God ever said: “Let there be light”, in Genesis 1, God has had a character and some characteristics to Him that have remained
was the same up until today. God’s plans and purposes that He had in His heart for
creation and for all Humanity have also remained the same. All the things that God planned to
do way before creation is what He has done, He is doing, is what He will continue to do,
to infinity. Therefore, Jesus Christ, being God, has remained the same from way back,
to now, to way future, and will be on to eternity.
This is true, but for me it has also come to mean hat the promises He made to Adam, Abraham, and David concerning humanity, (you and I) are still valid! Is that cool or what? His existence and His consistency is like an unbreakable ring – it is eternal. This is the “eternality of God”
When God seems to change.
One of my friends had commented that though the Bible says God is the same, He
seems to change sometimes. E.g. When God said He would punish King Ahab’s household
but then Ahab went into mourning, dressed in sackcloth, and God took notice and
modified Ahab’s sentence. How about King Manasseh and all the atrocities he
committed and yet God forgave Him later. It seems like God was not keeping His word.
But He was. God was acting in line with His person, His character. That He is love, He is gracious,
merciful, longsuffering and compassionate. That He is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (Psalm 86:5; Psalm 86:15; Jonah 4:2). God is not willing that anyone should
perish. Whenever God seems to change, it is so that His preferred mode of interacting
with humanity will become what He expresses (2 Peter 3:9). God prefers to gracious towards us rather than to be angry, punitive or disappointed.
Malachi 3:6
“For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of
Jacob”
Sometimes, people may have unstable family situations. There may be uncertainty in
the behavior or character of key persons in our lives. But I love the fact that God does
not change and He is so predictable. No matter what day it is, what could be going
on during my day, or all around the world, one thing is always certain – God is the same.
God is still love (1 John 4:8). He is still loving, gracious, and forgiving towards you and towards me! This is comforting and calms our fears and anxiety, to know that the person whose opinion you value the most, whose opinion will end up being the most important for every one of – God Almighty Himself, never changes, and therefore will not become unpredictable, leaving you high and dry.
Therefore, no matter what is going on we can know that God always loves us, that God’s
blessings are still available to anyone who would receive them, and that God’s promises
to those who accept to be “in Christ Jesus” are valid and in operation. In fact, God even
continues to keep His end of the bargain even when we have strayed from God (2 Timothy 2:13).
God’s end of the bargain is always waiting for us to find our way home back to Him. God has not changed. His position and affection concerning us remains the same.
We can confidently say, “Thank you Father”.
