Unchanging Promises

Unchanging Promises

God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through? Numbers 23:19

WHAT IF GOD DIDN’T MEAN what I thought he meant? What if this promise applied then but not anymore? What if I’ve been disqualified for a lack of faith, a sinful mistake, a gross misunderstanding? What if times have changed? What if . . . In the long process of believing God for an answer to prayer, we have no shortage of questions. We entertain doubts; possible exceptions, conditions, and caveats; fine print between the lines of biblical claims; and so many more uncertainties. Our faith can rise and fall at the slightest hints in an overheard conversation, a circumstantial change, a pointed sermon, an ambiguous sign, or a discouraging mood. We may admire unchanging faith, but as we’re learning what that entails, we just don’t know how to have it.

God is not a con artist. He doesn’t fill Scripture with fine print and unattainable conditions. In spite of the many sermons we’ve heard and books we’ve read that major on what a promise doesn’t mean rather than what it does mean, we don’t have to condition our theology with so many disclaimers. God means what he says. He doesn’t lie. If we misunderstand, we can ask him for understanding. He isn’t playing games with us; he wants us to believe.

That’s a hard concept to grasp in a world of fake news, legal maneuvering, policies and warranties that are filled with exceptions, equivocal politicians, sly winks, and crossed fingers. But while God is hidden to untrained eyes, he doesn’t want to remain obscure to our faithful gaze. After all, the Bible and the Incarnation are revelations of himself. He wants to be known. He says so clearly. And he wants his words and his will to be known too.

Trust your unchanging God. He has no interest in deceiving you. He will never jerk the rug out from under you. You may go through trials—even surprising ones—but not without his guiding, comforting hand. And his words to you will forever remain true.

Though men are false, God is faithful.