SBConnect

Mar 2019

“It is well for us that, amidst all the variableness of life, there is One whom change cannot affect; One whose heart can never alter, and on whose brow mutability can make no furrows.”
–Charles Spurgeon

Change is difficult. Countries bleed when political leadership change. Corporations blow billions to rebrand themselves. And sadly, churches sometimes break up over changes from church polity to ecclesiastical preferences. And we blame ourselves for our failure to change that bad habit, shrink that ballooning body, or salvage that bad decision. Change is hard. Change is difficult.

Our rational mind would want to have a great body, but our emotional mind would crave for that bar of chocolate. Our rational mind wants to work hard and give our best at work. Our emotional mind wants to make soft, simple choices. These tensions can sink our best intentions and efforts to change for the better.

Yet, we have seen “miracles” in ordinary people through the changes in their lives. We relish in the down-and-out comeback kid stories. We revel when someone drops that 40kgs of fat. We rejoice when churches quadruple their size and impact in a short time.

Ironically, such outward changes and success stories sometimes do not satisfy our lust for more. Once we have reached our goals, we have to aim for another higher, more challenging goal, only to be discontented once the goal is reached.?Any human-engineered change, however “miraculous” will be incomplete, insufficient and impermanent. Therefore, not all changes are welcomed nor good.

And change for the sake of changing can consume all of our energy, time and resources.

This is why we need to take comfort and confidence in this ever-changing world that God does not change. God is not relative but absolute. His ways are just. His love is limitless. His covenant is sure.

If God does not change, it means His love, His holiness and His standards do not change. We can count on God to fulfill His promises and to deliver His justice. It means He is relevant even today, unlike some passing fad or passion. This unchanging attribute of God (God’s “immutability”) gives us an anchor of hope in the midst of an impermanent, ever-changing, and restless world. The good news is He has made this attribute known to us through His only Son Jesus Christ:

“Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

In the sea of uncertainty, relativity and chaos, God’s immutability stands as the benchmark for our vocation and values. If we set our values and direction according to God’s heartbeat found in His Word, we do not have to waiver or wander away. For He changes not!

As you face challenges in both your ministry directions and personal goals, trust in God’s unchanging attributes. He is faithful and true!

Change is good, but don’t just change for the sake of change.

Grace and peace