“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭8‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Change is hard. I’ve come to the conclusion that no one really likes change. Someone who claims to like change may want one or two things to change or maybe they just long for a fresh variety, but when too many things change, even the purported change-seekers will be very unsettled.

For example, imagine someone who wants a new job or a new place to live or a new person to share life with. Those would be major upheavals, but that person will probably be rejuvenated by those changes and may say they embrace change. Sure.

But imagine that same person with different kinds of change. Imagine their existing home is destroyed in an earthquake. Or they are diagnosed with a disfiguring and painful disease. Or their government collapses and society as they know it, including their job, ceases to exist. Or the earth is taken over by an alien race that enslaves all of humanity. That kind of change probably wouldn’t be embraced.

OK. Those are pretty extreme examples. But my point is that change is usually unsettling. Change rarely brings only benefit. Even winning the lottery brings some unsettling changes like losing some friends, having to move, or suddenly not knowing who to trust. A happy event like marrying the person of your dreams can bring some unsettling consequences like having to put up with an entire new extended family during the holidays and learning how to tolerate different levels of tidiness.

In our broken world, nothing is stable or constant or forever. Nothing is dependable or reliable or certain.

Except Jesus.

Today’s verse reminds me that God is stable, constant, forever, dependable, reliable, and certain. He calls Himself I AM because He is. Always. Was, is, and will be.

What a relief in the stormy seas of life. When I wake up with a new disease, God is still here. When I am laid off from my job, God is still here. When democracy fails and a dictator usurps my property, God is still here.

God doesn’t have good days and bad days, He doesn’t sleep or go on vacation, and He doesn’t get distracted or drunk or forget things. He is always here, always the same, always holy, and always love.

Dear God,

I’m so relieved that you are an unchanging rock in the swiftly churning river of my life. Give me the strength to cling to you in all things. And when my strength fails, please hang on to me. Forgive me for being distracted or afraid. Thank you for the reminder of your constancy.