Unsure of Your Future? Rest on God’s Immutability

Davis Wetherell

God’s immutability is a wonderful attribute. What is immutability? In a 2014 Banner of Truth article, Geoff Thomas explains,

God is perpetually the same. He never changes. His being, and nature, and perfections can’t be altered. Nothing can be added to the infinite God and nothing can be taken from him. What God is today he always was. What God is today he shall always be.

In sum, God is always God. And He is the only being that is this way. You and I are always changing, growing, moving, and developing, but God is what He is. Herman Bavinck wisely wrote, “God alone is absolute being, the ‘I will be who I will be,’ but all creatures… are subject to the law of becoming” (82).

Implied in this “law of becoming” is unknowing and uncertainty. What will our lives hold?

As we approach the new year, perhaps we face this question more directly. If this is a daunting question for you like it is for me, then join me in meditating on these three Bible verses on the immutability of God.

1.) Psalm 106:25–27

Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,
    and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you [God] will remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
   but you are the same, and your years have no end.

I find a lot of comfort in this verse because it reminds me that nothing is as permanent as God. Although the world I live in may be hectic, painful, and confusing, it will pass away. God alone will remain.

It’s not enough to know that the earth will pass away, for if everything were to just end then life would be pointless. The struggle would be fruitless. But God remains the same in the end as He was in the beginning.

The application here, partially, is that faith in and worship of Jesus Christ brings stability to our lives. He is the only thing that will never change. So if you are looking for stability this season, look to Jesus!

2.) Isaiah 46:9–10

I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
    and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, “My counsel shall stand,
   and I will accomplish all my purpose.”

This is one of my favorite verses for several reasons. One reason is that God promises His counsel shall stand, and that He will accomplish His purpose. God is good not only because He does not change but also because He never fails. That’s part of God’s immutability; He always accomplishes His purpose.

Another reason is that God highlights something He can do that no one else can do: God declared the end of time from the beginning of time.

When we experience failures or uncertainties in our life, we can be comforted by Christ, because we are in Christ, and He never fails and He is always certain.

Prediction and Declaration

I’m a baseball fan, and I enjoy guessing who will win the championship. In fact, I like guessing who will win each division, who will win each playoff series, and who will win the World Series. I shared my picks with my wife back in February, and guess how I did? Terrible! I predicted the Chicago Cubs would beat the New York Yankees—but Chicago didn’t even make the playoffs!

Had I been right, I could have said, “I declared the end of the season from the beginning of the season.” That would have been a nice guess, and it would have certainly increased my credibility as a baseball thinker.

God, however, isn’t predicting something eight months away, He is declaring the end of all things from the beginning of all things. And my baseball prediction was just a guess—it had no bearing on reality. What God is doing is not prediction, it’s declaration. He isn’t saying, “Look at how perceptive I am into the way the world works.” He is saying, “I will do this.”

God does not predict the end from the beginning; God is “the beginning and the end” (Revelation 21:6; 22:13).

3.) James 1:17

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.

It is good to remember that everything good comes from God. The source of good gifts never changes. So, when you are stuck in a period of uncertainty and unknowing, if you receive a good gift—a new friend, an encouragement—you know it’s from God and He is with you.

The other thing to mention is that giving good gifts is a part of God’s nature, and therefore a part of His immutability. He does not waver in His nature, and His nature is that of a “Father” who “give[s] good things to those who ask him” (Matthew 7:11).

When you are facing an unknown future, ask God for His help! It is His promise to His children that He will give good gifts. You can have peace knowing that God will do this and that what He will do will be a good thing.

Other Verses to Read?

This article just had enough space to talk about three verses from the Bible on God’s unchanging nature. But there are plenty more! What verses do you often revisit when you need to be reminded of God’s immutability?

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas season, full of rich biblical meditation on who God is and what He has done for you.

Posted at: https://unlockingthebible.org/2019/12/unsure-future-rest-god-immutability/

Cultivating Godly Character While Waiting on God

Dave Jenkins

A little over seven years ago in May 2012, I graduated from seminary with my second Master’s Degree. Since that time, I’ve been applying to a variety of pastor positions to no avail. While I’ve had a lot of interviews, none of them have resulted in me receiving a call from a local church.  

In the meantime, I’ve served in the local church in a variety of roles since graduating high school almost two decades ago. Presently, I serve as a writer, editor, podcaster, and speaker living in Southern California. 

Waiting on God is challenging, frustrating, and painful. See, our flesh and our instant-gratification-society don’t teach us patience. They teach us to snap our fingers and expect whatever we want in a matter of minutes.  

Today you might be like me, waiting on the Lord to provide that job you want. Or you might be struggling with discouragement, depression, anxiety, and worry. I don’t have a magic formula that will ensure you get what you want in an instant. Nor do I have a to-do list for you to reach your best life today. And let’s be honest, you and I both know that won’t work.  

Instead, what you and I both need is the Bible and what it teaches about waiting on God. 

The Bible’s Teaching on Waiting on God

The Lord gives us great promises in His Word so that we’ll trust Him in seasons of life where we’re waiting on Him. Look with me now at some of the biblical teaching on waiting on the Lord: 

• Lamentations 3:5: “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.”

• Psalm 33:20-22: “Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.”

• Psalm 130:5-6: “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.”

• Psalm 27:14: “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”

• Micah 7:7: “But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.”

• Isaiah 64:4: “From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.”

Focusing on the Lord 

I don’t know about you, but I am often guilty of focusing too much on my circumstances. When we replay our situations over and over in our mind, we are not thinking about what is noble, pure, and good as Philippians 4:8 says.

If we are so focused on what is negative in our lives, we will never give thanks like we’ve been commanded by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:18. And if we aren’t giving thanks, we will focus too much on our circumstances. We’ll become frustrated with life, getting discouraged, depressed, and full of anxiety.

Instead, what the Lord offers is for us to rejoice in Him (Philippians 4:4) because we believe that He alone is sufficient (Philippians 4:13). Such a perspective shift will help us to become focused less on our challenges and more on the Lord who helps us through our difficulties. 

Challenges are Opportunities to Grow in Grace 

Within the last month, a book project of mine got rejected by a major Christian publisher. And then I again got that dreaded email, though nicely worded, that I was rejected by a church for a pastor position I applied to.  

Talk about a double whammy. It felt like a gut-punch. Needless to say, I didn’t respond well. I immediately went negative, but later in the evening, I went on a walk, had a good cry, poured out my soul to the Lord, and preached the gospel to myself. 

Then, I walked back home, headed to bed, kissed my wife, and told her I love her. I prayed and hit my pillow to sleep for the night. I woke up the next morning, ready for the day, and refreshed in the Lord. 

At the moment, that rejection from my book project and the church devastated me. But what I remembered while on my walk was that Jesus was thoroughly rejected in every way by humanity at the cross. I considered how my worst days are nothing compared to Jesus’s worst day. 

It is because He was rejected by the world He came to save, I am now adopted, fully accepted, and loved by Him because of His finished and sufficient work.

The Seasons of Our Life Are Not for Us Alone 

The seasons of our lives are not for us alone; they are for others also. When you grab hold at the heart level that God is faithful and good, you will wait on Him with faith in Him.  

You will also trust him in the storms of life knowing that the storm may shake you, but you are held in the storm by none other than the Creator and Lord who secures your salvation in Christ alone. 

You may say, “I get that in my head,” but it’s not just in the head where this truth should hit us. We need to know and experience it in our hearts. As I continue to grow myself in applying these truths to my own heart, I grow more peaceful and content in Christ.   

To that end, I daily remind myself that the seasons of my life are governed by the hand of a sovereign God who loves me and cares for me. This truth helps me to face the present and the future with confidence in His sovereignty.

Perhaps today you are tired of waiting, sometimes patiently and sometimes not. What you need to understand is this: in Christ, you and I have been given everything, and all of it is of grace. No matter how long we have to wait on God, He is still good and sufficient.   

We can trust the Lord while we wait on Him and look to the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus. who alone secures the beloved and who now faithfully intercedes for the people of God. 

Let’s you and I commit as His friends while we wait on the Lord to trust and to grow in Him. It’s here in waiting on God where we will become men and women of godly character, useful to our Master so that He may use us to lift high the name of Jesus, for His glory.  

THE AUTHOR

Dave Jenkins is happily married to Sarah Jenkins. He is a writer, editor, and speaker living in sunny Southern California. Dave is a lover of Christ, His people, and sound theology. He serves as the Executive Director of Servants of Grace Ministries, the Executive Editor of Theology for Life Magazine, and is the Host for the Equipping You in Grace Podcast. Dave loves to spend time with his wife, going to movies, eating at a nice restaurant, or going out for a round of golf with a good friend. He is also a voracious reader, in particular of Reformed theology, and the Puritans. You will often find him when he’s not busy with ministry reading a pile of the latest books from a wide variety of Christian publishers. Dave received his MAR and M.Div through Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.

Posted at: https://unlockingthebible.org/2019/07/cultivating-godly-character-while-waiting-god/

When the Future Feels Impossible

Article by Vaneetha Rendall Risner

A dear friend of mine is walking through a heartbreaking illness.

When I heard the news, I was shaken. I, who write about suffering, had no words to offer. What could I say anyway? Words seemed inadequate. Trite. Even condescending. How do you encourage someone who is beginning a devastating journey into the unknown?

It takes me a few days to process what’s happening. Our friends are all struggling to process it too. As we pray, we try to remind ourselves of the truths we know. Bedrock truths that have carried us through our own grief. Truths that every Christian can hold onto. Truths that will bear the weight of our sorrow.

He Controls the World

First and foremost, God is sovereign. Nothing that happens to us is a surprise to him. Not one sparrow falls to the ground apart from the Father’s will (Matthew 10:29). On the contrary, everything that we face has been put there with a purpose. We can trust that it is the best for us. And hard as it is to understand, the struggles that land on our doorstep are also for the good of our family, for our friends, for everyone we love, if they love God.

“Everything that we face has been put there with a purpose.”

Yet even as I write this, thinking that our suffering ultimately will be best for our loved ones sounds crazy. Guaranteeing it sounds impossible. But the God of the universe, who keeps the earth spinning on its axis, who tells the ocean to come this far and no farther (Job 38:11), who commands the wind and the waves (Mark 4:41), who clothes the lilies of the field (Matthew 6:28–30), and who has numbered the hairs on our head (Luke 12:7) can ensure that all things work together for good for those who love him (Romans 8:28).

God loves us. He watched his Son die a horrible death, separated from him in his last hours, so that we would never be separated from him. He wants to be with us, to take care of us, and to give us good gifts. How could he, who did not spare his own Son, not give us all things (Romans 8:32)?

He Walks with Us

God has numbered our days. All the days ordained for us were written in his book before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:16). Nothing can cut short our lives. No one will live one second less than God determined before the foundation of the world.

God walks with us every minute of our lives. Jesus says, “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). God says to Joshua, “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you” (Joshua 1:5). When we walk through the rivers, they will not overwhelm us, because the Lord walks through them with us (Isaiah 43:2).

We never drink the bitter cup or endure any pain without him.

He Will Come Through

“We never drink the bitter cup or endure any pain without him.”

Christ is with us and will give us the comfort and strength we need each day. As Deuteronomy 33:25 assures us, “As your days, so shall your strength be.”

Octavius Winslow, a preacher in England in the 1800’s, reminds us that God gives us more than we need in our hour of suffering. He says, “Has not the Lord always been better than all your troubling anticipations, quelling your fears, reassuring your doubting mind, and hearing you gently and safely through the hour of suffering which you dreaded? Then trust him now! Never, never will he forsake you!”

Yet despite God’s past faithfulness, one of our biggest concerns is whether the Lord will be with us in future trials. John Ross MacDuff, a Scottish contemporary of Winslow, understands this fear. He says,

God does not give grace till the hour of trial comes. But when it does come, the amount of grace and the nature of the special grace required is vouchsafed. My soul, do not dwell with painful apprehension on the future. Do not anticipate coming sorrows; perplexing thyself with the grace needed for future emergencies; tomorrow will bring its promised grace along with tomorrow’s trials . . . and the strength which the hour of trial brings often makes the Christian a wonder to himself!

No Matter What Happens

We don’t need to understand now how we will face the future. God will give us all we need every day we have breath. And when we breathe our last on earth, the Lord will bring us safely to heaven so that we can enjoy him forever.

“We don’t need to understand now how we will face the future.”

One day our eyes will close in death and open to the breathtaking reality that we are in the presence of our Savior. We will feel more alive, more vibrant, more energetic, and more joyful than we ever have on earth. The God whom we have known but never seen will be before us. We will behold his glory with our own eyes, with no distortion or filter. Our souls will be completely at rest and at peace, filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. It will be glorious. That is our hope. Our promise. Our anchor.

These are the truths we as Christians base our lives on. They are sure and unchanging promises, guaranteed by the One who holds the universe. No matter what happens, we will never walk alone.

Vaneetha Rendall Risner is a freelance writer and a regular contributor to Desiring God. She blogs at danceintherain.com, although she doesn’t like rain and has no sense of rhythm. Vaneetha is married to Joel and has two daughters, Katie and Kristi. She and Joel live in Raleigh, North Carolina. Vaneetha is the author of the book The Scars That Have Shaped Me: How God Meets Us in Suffering.

Posted at: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/when-the-future-feels-impossible

Submit Your Dream to God

Article by Lara D'entremont

I held my rounded belly as I walked up the wooden, uneven stairs. We delayed their renovation until after the baby’s room was done. Almost everything was unfinished on the second floor of our house. The walls still had floral and striped wallpaper (and who knows what other colours underneath), the floors were chipboard, and there were boxes we still had no place for after living here almost a year. Some days I liked my dreams coming true: the walls having fresh paint, my bare feet walking on clean hardwood, and bright sunlight filling the spaces. But I knew that was still a number of months down the road.

If you asked me what I envisioned for my life, this was far from it. I would have told you about my plans to live in the city, work in a church, and use my Master’s in Biblical Counselling. Maybe I’d tell you about our cute house in the cul-de-sac with a modern farmhouse feeling. I would have told you children were in the picture, but not until I was 28.

And yet, here I was—21 years old, working as a babysitter and “Mommy Helper,” without a degree, and pregnant with my first. The only common denominator was my faithful husband. There were days I felt like my dreams were crushed by the sovereign hand of God.

Has life not turned out the way you dreamed? Maybe you thought you would have a growing family with babies and toddlers in tow—but your arms still remain empty. Perhaps you saw yourself going out on double dates with your married friends by now—yet, you are the only one who is still single. Maybe you saw yourself with a nicer and better-paying job at this point—but you still push grocery items on a conveyor belt.

Worshiping Our Dreams

Do you worship your dreams? I know I did. I held my dreams higher than God at times, and pursued my dreams more than I pursued holiness. There were times I was willing to sin to get my dreams. In my heart, I had pushed God aside and placed my dreams in his place.

Have you ever considered that these dreams you have might be an idol? Even if your dreams are good—like having a godly husband—our hearts can still worship them.

Since the lines can at times become fuzzy, here are a few ways to see if your dream has become an idol. You…

• are willing to or have sinned in attempt to achieve it.

• become sinfully angry when you can’t have it.

• are willing to hurt others to get it.

• put off obedience to God in the ways he has already called you in order to achieve it.

• often think, “Without [insert your dream], I will never be happy.”

Before you can find hope again from your unrealized dreams, you need to first let go of this idolatry. God needs to be the One you delight in most. In recognizing this idolatry in your heart, start by repenting and asking God for forgiveness. Confess to him how you have placed this dream over him and the ways you have disobeyed him in order to get it. Then seek to know God more. As you grow in the knowledge of God, you will see how he is much better than your dream and how inferior your dream is to him.

Finding Hope In God’s Sovereignty and Wisdom

We know that God is sovereign. All of our plans and dreams pass through his hands first. If they are realized, then we know it was in his will for them to be fulfilled. But if they do not, we know that it was him who sovereignly chose to keep them from us.

This should give us great comfort. We are sinful and unwise people—if our plans and dreams always turned out the way we wanted, our lives would be a mess. When things go wrong, we would have no hope of them turning out for the better. Since God is sovereign, we can have hope even when our plans and dreams aren’t realized. We know God works together all things for good (Romans 8:28-30).

What is that ultimate good? When our dreams are crushed and we can’t see the goodness in it, we can know that the true goodness began with our salvation. When God rescued us sinners from the condemnation to hell our sin had sentenced us to, he began a good work in us that he promises to see to completion: Our sanctification—being made more like Christ.

We know that God is also much wiser than us. He knows what will make us more like Christ, which should be our ultimate goal (or dream). Isaiah declares:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

   neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

   so are my ways higher than your ways

   and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

In God’s greater wisdom, he decides which way our lives turn. Even though our way may seem like the best way at the time, we can trust that God’s is better. His ways are higher in his great wisdom. Rather than questioning his choices, we need to learn to accept what he gives and what he withholds.

In our pain, and when what we want is good and right, this isn’t always easy to do. But we must preach the truth to our hearts in those times and remind ourselves of his perfect character. Take hope today in your crushed dreams that every “gift”—whether it is something given or something withheld—is perfect when it is from God.

We can also cling to a better and certain dream. Because we bear Christ’s mark of salvation, we can trust that we will one day meet Christ, face-to-face, fully redeemed from sin and taken from this sinful work  wrecked with heartache, disappointment, death, and pain, and enter into eternal life where all is perfect and at peace. We will enter eternity with Christ, and spend all of time with him in the most perfect place. When our dreams are dashed, this is a much greater hope.

A New Dream

I had specific dreams for my life. Thankfully, God doesn’t work according to my desires. He works according to his, which are beyond my wisdom. And by his greater wisdom, he gave me something better.

I wanted to live in a big city where opportunities and people abound. But God had different plans for us. He began by softening our hearts for the people in the small town around us through youth group and our church. From there, he provided the perfect house for us.

Rather than pursuing a degree, God led me to ACBC certification, through which I’ve grown immensely. Rather than waiting to have children, God has blessed us with a healthy baby boy. And, rather than having a fancy office job in a church, I got the opportunity to work for two mothers in our community—who help me learn about being a godly wife and mom. Working for these two mothers has also blessed me with the ability to provide for my household and invest time into my writing.

Some days it’s hard to see the “better” in this dream, and some days I struggle to be thankful when I see others living out my previous dream. But God is working on my heart, and I am growing in contentment and joy for this new life God has graciously given us.

You may not be able to see it now, but God has a better dream for you. I’m not saying all will turn out well according to the world’s standards, or even your standards, but I do know that it all will turn out according to God’s will, which is the best thing that could ever happen for your life.

Lara D'entremont

Lara d’Entremont is a biblical counsellor in training, youth leader, and writer. She is a wife to Daniel and they serve at Clark’s Harbour United Baptist ‘Stone’ Church. You can read more of her writing on her blog, Renewed In Truth, where she teaches women about God’s Word and helps them make theology practical.

Posted at: https://unlockingthebible.org/2018/10/submitting-our-dreams-god/