Pilgrim Soldier

We believe that God is unchanging! We believe that He is omnipotent, omnipresent etc. Yet despite this we apparently seem to believe that we can put Him firmly in a box!

Well over a decade ago, in a former life it seems now, I went on a team-building course with work. I would guess that I’ve forgotten a great deal of that now, but there is one thing that I remember. Apparently, it takes approximately 15 seconds after meeting someone for the first time, for the average person to put them in a box in their mind. Once they have formed their opinion of a person, it is highly unlikely that their opinion will ever change.

It seems that we do the same thing with God sometimes. We see the way He has acted in the past and seem to assume that this is the only way in which he will act in the future. I remember singing the chorus as a younger person:

He’s the same today, as yesterday, my great unchanging friend.
He’s the same today, as yesterday, just the same unto the end.

Of course this is true! God is unchanging in his character and will not ever act outside that character. However, this doesn’t mean that He will always act in the way He has in the past.

Isaiah 43:19 says:

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

Whilst it is true that God is unchanging, it is His very being that doesn’t change. As we look through the Bible we see the way He works changing time and time again. He remains true to who He is, but his methods change. We need to understand that and become more like Him. We need to find ways to be true to who He is whilst seeking new ways of communicating the unchanging message He has entrusted to us.