God Never Changes

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"Jesus Christ the same, yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8, KJV).

God tells us in his word that he does not change.

We repeat this and teach this, but as we parse scripture and divide testaments, I think we sometimes forget the reality of this astounding truth.

We see the Old Testament God and overlook that he is the one who came to us in the New Testament. We read of Moses meeting God on Mount Sinai without remembering that Jesus stood on the Mount of Transfiguration during his ministry. God has worked in and through people from the beginning, displaying love, offering grace.

This truth was evident as I read in Genesis chapter six and Acts chapter six today. These chapters give us stories of two men, Noah and Stephen. One lived before the flood, before the law was given, before the Savior was revealed. The other lived after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, a leader among the early believers. Both followed God. Both were faithful. Both stood firm in their obedience to the Lord.

Noah was tasked with a seemingly impossible job. He was to build a boat, a HUGE boat, with precise measurements and specifications, when he had never seen a boat or needed a boat. He had never even seen rain. This was such a huge task that it took over one hundred years for him to complete it. All the while, he was warning people, who also had not seen rain, of the flood to come.

Can you imagine the jeers and mocking Noah endured? Yet, he remained faithfully obedient. He believed what God had told him and he acted on his belief.

Stephen was one of the first deacons in the early church. He wasn’t an apostle or a pastor. He was called to serve and take care of the needs of the widows in the assembly. Yet, Stephen was a man of faith. He believed God and he lived his belief. This put him at odds with the religious elite of the day. When Stephen dared tell them about the Jesus whom they had crucified, they became so enraged that they picked up rocks and stoned him to death. Stephen was faithful unto death.

Centuries separated these two men, but they served a God who does not change. Noah believed and obeyed. Stephen believed and obeyed.

Their belief cost them, but they remained faithful.

God may not be calling you to build a boat or give testimony before angry religious leaders, but just like Noah and Stephen, he is calling you and me to believe his word and faithfully obey. Wherever he leads. Whatever comes to pass.

Just like Noah and Stephen we can trust and obey.

I wonder if we can stand firm like they did.

I pray that we will. By God’s grace we will.

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Heavenly Father, what examples You have given us in Your word. You didn’t show us perfect people, but You showed us people who trusted a perfect God. You gave us pictures of faith that stood in all sorts of situations and times of trial. You have shown us that what You offer is worth more than this life has to offer. May we stand faithful in this life and faithful unto death. In Jesus’ name I pray.