For I am the Lord, I do not change” Malachi 3:6a
At the church where I get to serve, we have our team meeting (aka staff meeting) on Tuesday mornings at nine. It is a time for us to get together and plan and chat—and invariably we do a lot of chatting. While the topics are always varied…it seems to always come back to the “you’ve got the be kidding me” world we are living in. That usually includes a variety of COVID topics as well as the economy.
I recently was going through some files on my computer and discovered something I had written way back in 2008. As proof that somethings never change, it was about what we talked about at staff meeting that week—the price of gas. I was surprised to remember that gas that particular week was…get ready…$3.47 per gallon.
Here we are 13 years later and while it is not $3.47 it is close…very close. If it makes you feel better, I own two Volkswagen cars that use diesel and it is $3.69 per gallon. And to think…diesel is made from the leftovers that make gas. Hmmm. All this is more ironic because I remember (I can’t believe I’m old enough to finally say that) when gas was 32 cents per gallon, and I filled up my Volkswagen for $2.42. Oh, and when there was a “gas war” on you could pick it up for 18 cents per gallon. Ah, those were the days. At any rate, just like the price of gas seems to change daily so are the days of our lives.
That’s one good thing about God—He simply doesn’t change. He never had a beginning and will never have an end (despite what our liberal “friends” think) and throughout all that time, He has never changed. Malachi 3:6 says, “For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore, you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.” That’s good news for the reason stated in the verse—He won’t change His mind about me or you. Pretty awesome.
Because of the COVID mess and about a dozen other “stranger than life” things, our whole economy, well, our whole country, is in a flux. It seems like there is nothing solid to stand on…but there is…and He is creator God. For many He may be out of vogue or out of style. For some He might seem like wishful thinking but for others…well He is the one thing solid to stand on in these shifting sand days.
In the movie “Hidden Figures” some of the smartest people in the nation and the space program were trying to figure the right numbers to get John Glenn up and down safely. They couldn’t seem to invent a new math that would work and finally someone said, “Maybe it isn’t new math, maybe it is old math.” And, sure enough, they used an ancient formula and it worked. They rediscovered that the truth about numbers don’t change. That is one reason why maybe, just maybe it is time to go back to what worked for eons…faith in God.
The Bible…the oldest and most tested of any sacred writing, says “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” And do you know what? That is simply true. Someone said a real friend never changes and that is so true of Jesus Christ. He will be there no matter what and I like that. James Taylor, a songwriter and singer from the 70’s wrote, “winter, spring, summer or fall, all you have to do is call and I will be there.” Well, I can’t verify that for James, but I can for God. Go ahead and give Him a try. You will find that He is all that He says He is, and you will also find that no matter what…He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne
Grits with Grace 