For I the Lord, do not change. (Malachi 3:6, ESV)
According to GolfCartGarage.com, Lyman Beecher invented a golf cart in 1932 for golfers pulled by two caddies, much like a rickshaw. Beecher used this cart pulled by two caddies at the Biltmore Forest Country Club in Asheville, North Carolina.
RJ Jackson, a Texas oilman, applied for the first U.S. patented motorized golf cart when he invented the “Arthritis Special” Golf Buggy on June 11, 1947.
Today, golf cart manufacturing is a billion-dollar industry, with advancements in innovation and technology producing amazing golf and family-friendly vehicles. Over time, the golf cart has changed and improved to become what it is today. In manufacturing, change, and improvement is good.
This historical tidbit points us to the ultimate truth: the Lord Almighty and His Holy Word never change! “For I the Lord do not change” (Malachi 3:6). And, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8).
In an ever-changing world, we can rest knowing that God and his Word are faithful and immutable. Why does this matter?
The changes we experience in this life are numerous and even, at times, consistent: Changes in our family dynamics, changes in our careers, our finances, in our health. One thing that is true in this life is that change is certain.
Often, these changes induce stress, anxiety, and worry. Once these reactions set in, they can dominate our lives. There’s even a phobia to change called “metathesis phobia” (Don’t ask me to say it).
We struggle with change because change introduces the unknown, and most of us hate not knowing what’s around the corner. And when we’re consumed with the aftermath of change and the certainty of the unknown, we forget our gracious Heavenly Father, whose character and response to us in our time of need remedies our worries.
Consider the Lord’s declaration concerning our sinfulness and those who have been redeemed. When the Lord said, “For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:34), the follower of Christ rests knowing that sin and its wages have been conquered through the sacrificial atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Father will never change his mind about our redemption!
So, when we read from the biblical authors that God and his Word never changes, it should give the troubled Christian the address to a safe haven, where certainty in the Lord is like ointment to a wound.
And even though many in our culture have ignored clear, biblical teachings through their acceptance and support of various behaviors, God gave his Word, and no one has the right or authority to add to it or take from it.
Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” The changelessness and authority of Scripture would argue, “God said it, that settles it,” whether we believe it or not.
Rest, dear saints, as we continue to live on this side of eternity. Rest in the steadfastness of our King and the glorious book He has given us.
Prayer: Father, I trust you when you say, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” In him, find rest.