Unchanging

While I am a born and raised Texan, I love living in Colorado. I love the outdoors, the adventure, the seasons. I love skiing and sledding and trudging through freshly fallen snow. I love watching the leaves change in the fall and the pink and white flowers that cover the trees come spring. I love hiking and being outside in August (I never dreamed that was possible when I lived in Texas), although I still get cold when I swim here. I love the sunshine, I love going to Rockies games on a gorgeous day with my family, and I absolutely love the mountains.

Whether I am skiing down them, hiking through them, or just gazing at them as I drive my kids to school (while keeping my eyes on the road, of course), the mountains seem to draw me in. They are magnificent, beautiful, full of wonder and adventure. They are mighty and vast, solid and consistent. Romans 1:20 says, "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." Much like the mountains to me...while the mountains are not God, they reflect God. They give me a picture of what He is like; they show Him to be mighty and vast, full of adventure and wonder, solid and consistent, magnificent and beautiful.

One thing that amazes me about the mountains is how the view is ever changing. Some days they seem so close, so big, so near. Other days, the clouds seems to cover just the middle with the tops still peeking out above the low clouds. Some days they are snow covered and radiant as the sun shines on them brightly, and some days they seem almost invisible as it storms over the mountains. It is bizarre knowing they are still there but you cannot see them. The view is ever changing, but the mountains themselves are unchanging (well, maybe they're changing minuscule amounts through plate movements and weathering, but I'm talking big picture here). Weather changes, clouds change, seasons change, but the mountains do not change. They are faithful, steady, present, consistent. Much like our God.

Malachi 3:6

“For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed."

Hebrews 13:8

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

Psalm 102:25-27

"Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end."

The weather may change, the circumstances may change, but His character does not change. And what is His character?

God's character is as multifaceted as the mountains. We could look from every angle and see a different and magnificent view. Combine all of the mountain ranges in all the world and they would not suffice to portray the many attributes of the character of God.

But there is one and only one I will focus on today. God is Good.

"That's it? That's what you have for today?" you might be thinking. "I learned that in elementary school, how basic can you get?"

Yes, that is what I have for today. And it is one of the deepest truths that I know with incredible potential to change lives and bring freedom. If we do not truly believe God is good, we will never trust God. And if we do not trust God, we cannot walk in freedom.

God is good.

He is good.

He does good.

Whether it makes sense to us or not, whether it feels good or it doesn't, whether it is what we think should be done or not...He is Good.

James 1:17 says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

His being good is not dependent on His doing, as if He needs to "do" to become good. But rather because "Good" is who He is, absolutely everything, everything He does is Good. Because Goodness is His essence. And His Goodness in unchanging, it is consistent, we can count on it, always and forever. He cannot do bad.

"Whoa, whoa," you may think, "what about the tornadoes in Nashville, what about the Coronavirus, what about my aunt who is sick, what about my friend whose child died, what about my coworker who has cancer, what about school shootings, what about the holocaust...." what about, what about, what about. The clouds swirl, the shadows shift, the storms come, and sometimes they seem to make the mountain invisible. The storms, the tragedies, the bad things, the bad people, the sickness, the death, the oppression and injustice of the world seem to hide the mountain. And many, many, start believing that the mountain is not actually there.

But today I want to assure you that indeed the mountain is there, even behind the storm. When covered in snow, when hidden by fog, when shrouded by storms, the mountain is no less real, no less present. The shadows may have shifted, but our God has not. He remains. He is unchanged. And He is good. And because He is good, we can trust Him.

No matter the circumstance, no matter the challenge or storms or tragedies we face, no matter the shadows that attempt to make him appear different than He is, God is unchanging, Jesus is the same. He is the same Jesus who loved us enough to leave heaven to come to earth and give us life and freedom. The same Jesus who died on the cross and rose from the dead to free us from the power of sin and death. The same Jesus who sends us a Helper and Comforter today (the Holy Spirit) and intercedes for us at the right hand of God. The same Jesus who will return and make all that is wrong right. He remains unchanged, motivated by love, complete in His goodness.

I'll close with this invitation from Psalm 34:8.

"Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him."

May you not only believe it, but may you experience it. May you "taste" and "see" that indeed God is Good, and find courage in knowing that He will never ever change. Regardless of the "what" in our lives and in our world, may we fix our eyes on the "Who." As we lift our eyes to the mountains, may we see the One who is magnificent, beautiful, full of wonder and adventure. May we see the One who is mighty and vast, solid and consistent. May we see the One who is faithful, steady, present, and unchanging. May we see the One who is Good, and take refuge in Him.