BE CERTAIN OF THIS
For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
Malachi 3: 6, ESV
Covid-19 is an exponential contagion. Oddly, it fits these exponential times snugly, an exactness that is surprising. Like the times complexity and velocity mark this poisonous condition. Step back for a moment. You know in most respects this new world is intricately technological, beyond the understanding of most citizens, including me. It is also exceedingly fast, pacing life at higher rpms than ever before. Keeping up is a significant challenge, especially for us boomers. The point is, this coronavirus is an exponential infection that is causing us all to be more deliberate, perhaps a little slower in our movements. The cultural vibrations of Covid-19 are the pulses of constant change sweeping across our lifestyle board. Observing the vast reach of this thing, into every corner of our lives, has me singing the 1964 Bob Dylan hit---"The times, they are a-changin'". Are they ever!
Change is a life constant. By now we all know the dull ax "the only thing that doesn't change is change itself". This generation thrives on it, especially the younger generational cohorts. We're accustomed to life on the move, places to be, the ever-present to-do list, the demands of work, and the thrills of personal entertainment.
Now, in isolation mode we're as allergic to inactivity as we are the deadly virus. Some comics get a snicker about taking repetitive journeys from one room in the house to another, and trying to be occupied by the routines of household life. But change is still a constant. We're now having to alter our habits, adapt to new expressions of our personal freedoms, limit our contact with people outside the household, adopt new personal health regimens, schedule and plan grocery shopping, and so many other life adjustments. Covid-19 hasn't been an escape from change. It has accelerated our change quotient to new levels. The uncertainties of this pandemic keep our change mechanics activated and perhaps enlarged.
Some of us are wired for change, some are not. In either case stability and security are the calming force over the span of our three score and ten or four score years (see Psalm 90:10). When our physical, emotional, and spiritual reserves are spent we humans require immovable and steady guidance and reassurance. God and his eternal word are the only unchanging realities in our mobile, transitioning universe. Our well-meaning psychological systems falter and move with the moods of human nature. We're watching right now the wavering of many of our sources of security---the economy, societal structure, family dynamics, governments, personal comfort, and even the common good. In the shifts and turns of life only God and his word are eternal and unchanging. Many Scriptures affirm these truths. Make note of these three--
The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.
Psalm 33: 11, ESV
So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the
unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two
unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for
refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
Hebrews 6: 17-18, ESV
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of
lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
James 1:17, ESV
Some doubters view the reliable, constant, unchanging nature of God as the same ol' same ol' of religion, the repetitive jargon of faith throughout history. The God of the Bible is certainly unchanging. The God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, the Apostle Paul, and John Wesley is the God who is vital to our lives right now. But, Isaiah wrote---
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43: 19, ESV
He is the same, unchanging God. But, he is always doing a new thing in our lives. It is a certainty in a universe of questions marks. God does not change. Read about him in the Bible Experience him today.
He's the same. But, not the same ol' same ol'.
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