Forever the Same

Forever the Same

Changes. We all go through them. We change physically. I don’t look like I did when I was a baby or even when I was in my twenties. My hair has been long and short, curly, and straight. I’ve lost weight and gained weight. I’ve acquired wrinkles and gray hair. I’ve changed my fashion style over the years (still miss my hippo print pants with matching plastic belt). My mood changes. I’ve been happy, sad, excited, and angry. My health has changed. Although I find myself more forgetful as time goes on, my overall knowledge has changed and grown over the years. My interests have changed, and I have changed spiritually, being conformed each day more and more to the image of Jesus (some days are slower progress than others).

Some changes are good (Chick-Fil-A opening in our town). Some changes are bad (my hair in sixth grade). Some like change. Others do not (I’ve used the same nail polish color for over thirty years). Change doesn’t just impact us personally. Change affects everything in the world around us. Change is inevitable.

Change is what made me pause on Psalm 102:25-27.

25 Of old You laid the foundation of the earth,

and the heavens are the work of Your hands.

26 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,

27 but You are the same, and Your years have no end. [1]

God is forever the same. After reading these verses, I knew I wanted to write about why this truth is a comfort. Then I read all of Psalm 102 and realized I didn’t have to wrack my own limited brain. The whole of Psalm 102 had the answer. So, let’s go back to the beginning of Psalm 102. Now is a good time to grab your Bible and follow along.

Right away, we learn about the Psalmist in the title of the Psalm as well as what he does.

A Prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord. [2]

The psalmist is afflicted and faint. The Hebrew for faint can also be understood as feeling weak from being overwhelmed. Details of the psalmist’s affliction are in verses 3-11. He is ill and near death (vs 3-5). He feels isolated (vs 6-7). He faces enemy hostility (vs 8). If that wasn’t enough, the psalmist feels abandoned by God (vs 10) although he is not.

Maybe you feel overwhelmed by one of or more of these same afflictions or maybe you feel overwhelmed by something else – finances, strained relationships, job, school, current events, etc. When we feel overwhelmed, we can do what the psalmist did: cry to God (vs 1-2). The psalmist didn’t give up. He looked up. He sought God for help. He was honest about how he felt (read verses 3-11, 23-24). We can be honest too. Our honest confession of how we feel and what we are experiencing will not scare God or turn Him away in anger or frustration. The language of verses 1-2 are that of someone who is confident that God hears. He listens (vs 17). He does not turn away from us. Jesus took God’s full wrath on the cross in our place. He was forsaken by the Father, so that you and I will never be forsaken by the Father. We can confidently come to His throne of grace to find mercy and grace in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

Now look at verse 12…

But You, O Lord, are enthroned forever;

You are remembered throughout all generations. [3]

“But You…” Those words are the turning point. The Psalmist takes his eyes off of his overwhelming circumstances and focuses on God, who He is and what He does (vs 12-22). I will let you read those verses, but the crucial truth is that God is enthroned forever (vs 12). God is sovereign every minute, every day, from before there was time through all eternity. Your circumstances may be overwhelming you, but they can never overwhelm God. He is eternally reigning over all things.

As the Psalmist focuses on God, the natural result is praise (vs 18, 21-22). When we take our eyes off of what overwhelms us and focus on God, we are reminded of the good He has done, we begin to recognize the good He is doing in our current affliction, and we have hope for the good He will do because He is good, merciful, and compassionate (vs 19-20).

I’m thankful for verses 23 and 24 where we read the Psalmist cries out to God again. I can relate. We can set our focus on God, but that doesn’t mean the circumstances that were overwhelming us poof! disappear. There may still be hard things that drive us again to cry to God. But go to God.

Next are the verses I began with.

25 Of old You laid the foundation of the earth,

and the heavens are the work of Your hands.

26 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,

27 but You are the same, and Your years have no end.

God is the creator of everything. We often look at the world around us and think that it is permanent. Our afflictions may seem permanent, but the Psalmist points us to the fleetingness and frailty of all creation. God can change His creation “like a robe” (vs 26). In comparison, God will remain, He is the same, and His years have no end (vs 26-27). We take comfort that not only is God reigning over all things forever, but that He never changes. He is immutable in every one of His attributes. God will never cease to be sovereign. He will always be omnipotent, omniscient, just, loving, merciful, gracious, righteous, holy, faithful, awesome, redeemer, glorious, ruler, eternal, compassionate, and more. You can trust and rest in Him when you feel overwhelmed because He is forever the same.

We are further assured in Romans 8:37…

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.[4]

Instead of being overwhelmed, through Christ we overcome.

Reflection

1. Are you feeling overwhelmed? By what? What are you focusing on?

2. What “But God…” truths help you shift your focus from your overwhelming circumstances to God, who He is, and what He has done, is doing, and will do?

3. How does God being forever the same comfort you in your current overwhelming circumstance? Include specific attributes of God that are comforting knowing He will never change.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 102:25–27. [2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 102:title. [3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 102:12. [4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 8:37.