He Does Not Change
Malachi 3:6 (ESV) – “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.”
Life is hard. There is no way around this fact. Anyone born into this world will endure difficulties and hardships. Our bodies grow old. We ache. Suffering introduces itself to everyone. We lose loved ones, jobs, and relationships because of the sin and brokenness of the world. How can we endure these pains? How can we live our lives without being consumed?
The answer to that question is found in our passage today. The book of Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament. It is the last word from God for hundreds of years before a wild-looking prophet named John shows up proclaiming the coming of the Lord. We read in Malachi 3:6, “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.”
There is a promise in this text about God’s people not being consumed. He will not let His people be devoured and overcome by the troubles of this world. But how does He ground that promise? By reminding us of His own character. The LORD does not change. Our God is immutable. He remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. He always remains holy, faithful, loving, just, eternal, and more.
But here is the point: if God is unchanging, then so are all His promises. His promises remain the same. Because of this truth, we can cling to what He says at all times. We are not consumed because God’s promises sustain us. God’s unchangeableness means we are not at the mercy of changing events in our lives. Our faith rests in Him. If He could change, then we would stand on sand, threatened to sink at any moment. If God could change, then we would never know what sort of Being we were dealing with on a daily or moment-by-moment basis.
Find confidence today, in any circumstance, in the truth that God does not change. Our hearts may grieve and ache over a broken world, but we are not consumed.
His promises last.
He holds us together through His unbroken Word, rooted in His own unchanging character.
Reflection & Journal:
- Why does God’s unchangeableness keep us from being consumed?
- What are things in this life that threaten to consume us?
- How can we preach to our own hearts about this truth in today’s passage?
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