The beginning of a new year is usually a time to celebrate change. People make their resolutions so that they can lose weight or get healthy or get organized or rearrange their lives. And that’s great. I did that. I’m working on that right now.
I know 2011 wasn’t the worst year ever, but it sure wasn’t the best. So I join the rest of the world in saying goodbye to 2011 and welcoming 2012 with open arms.
Change is good. It stretches us. It helps us learn how to be flexible. It makes us realize that nothing stays the same and we have to grow up some time.
- Little waterfall at Glen Eyrie – Colorado Springs, CO
But no matter how many new years come and go, there is one thing that will never change. And that is explained simply in Hebrews 13:8 in today’s verse of the day.
Hebrews 13:8
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
And I don’t know if that brings you as much comfort as it does me. But to me, that’s huge. Because if Jesus never changes, the rest of the world can turn upside down on its head, and that means my life can still be stable. I can still be stable and confident and sure. Because Jesus isn’t going to change.
His plans for me won’t change. His hopes for me won’t change. His love for me won’t change. He won’t change.
And that means, if my situation changes, it’s not because He doesn’t love me anymore. Or it means that if my life goes crazy, His dreams for me haven’t changed. Because He never changes.
If my life goes crazy or turns upside down or looks like it’s going in a direction I don’t know how to adjust for, it just means that life has happened. Life happens to everyone. Everyone struggles. Everyone hurts. Everyone fails. Everyone falls. That’s life in our broken, imperfect world.
I have no illusions about 2012. The way the world is going now, I truly believe that our lives are going to get more difficult before they get better. And I have accepted that. Know why?
Because Jesus doesn’t change.
He has plans for me that are good, designed to give me a hope and a future. He knows what He’s doing. He has seen His dreams for me come to fruition, and He promised that He wouldn’t ever leave me.
So when my life comes crashing down around me (and I’m sure it will happen at some point), I’m not going to give up on Him. I’m not going to despair. Because Jesus has loved me since before time even started. Can we wrap our heads around that? Jesus loved all of us before God even invented the concept of time. Jesus has loved us all since before the beginning. Adam’s sin didn’t change that. Satan’s intentions can’t change that. Our own self-destructive attitudes and ideas can’t change that. Because nothing changes Jesus.
He is the same as He was yesterday. He is the same as He will be tomorrow.
And that means He knows what He’s doing. So in the hard times I experienced in 2011 and the difficult situations I’m sure are coming in 2012, I’m going to cling to the fact that Jesus isn’t going to waver in His promise and in His love.
At a time of year where it’s acceptable to celebrate change, I know I’m glad to be able to celebrate something that won’t.
Always Peachy 