Devotion 4: God Doesn’t Change

Joanna Montgomery

Jonah was asked to do something he didn’t want to do. In fact, he ran the opposite direction. When he found himself in a place where he couldn’t go any further, he prayed to God and thanked Him for salvation. God gave Jonah a second chance to do the will of God. He didn’t change what Jonah needed to do, he still had to go preach salvation to Nineveh, but Jonah obeyed when God gave him a second chance. God didn’t change, Jonah did. God gave Jonah a second chance to do God’s will, even though Jonah didn’t want to. What a wonderful message for us, God will give us a second chance as well. 

One of the most wonderful things about the God of Heaven is that He never changes. It is hard for us to truly understand this because we experience change all the time. When we are born, we are incapable of self-care. We know we need something, and we cry out for someone to solve a problem we don’t even understand. As we grow and develop, we change and begin to understand how things work. When our stomach growls, eating food will stop that. When we touch something that hurts us, we learn to avoid touching it. We experience change every day. When I look out a window, I might see trees flowering in the spring, snow sparkling on the yard, or my neighbor mowing their green grass. We experience change constantly. Being able to understand a God who never changes can be nearly impossible.

It seems in our world today, everything is constantly changing. Not just the weather and the seasons, but people. As a whole, people don’t care about other people the way they used to. They care about themselves more than others. I see this when I drive. People will speed up to prevent another car from merging in front of them, honk if someone slows down to turn, or will speed through an intersection where people are waiting to cross with their children. We are impatient and only seem to care about self. Constant change is the song of the world. It is the platform to power and the desire of the lost. We have definitely changed in our society, and it’s evident in so many ways. 

The Bible teaches that God never changes; He is always the same.

“For I the Lord do not change.” Malachi 3:6

“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” Numbers 23:19

“I am the Lord. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; I will not spare; I will not relent; according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord God.” Ezekiel 24:14

There are many other passages that reveal God never changes. So, what does that mean for us? It means when God promises us something, we can trust that promise. When the Bible says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16), it means that the believer in Christ, the Son of God, will have eternal life with God in Heaven. It isn’t conditional except that we must believe in Jesus Christ. God doesn’t change. He loves us, and even when we won’t change, He will wait for us while we do.