It is difficult to trust someone who is not reliable, who constantly changes his views, or who can be described as changeable and fickle. These things never apply to our Lord!
When John falls to the ground, half-dead with fear, the Lord calls out to him, “Do not be afraid!” and justifies it as follows: “I am the first and the last!” This expression literally means “the One who is unchanging in Himself.” This means: “I have always been there and will always be there. The way I am now is the way I have always been and the way I will always be. I change not!”
What a reassuring thought for us: God, in all His attributes, intentions, plans, and thoughts about us, God, in His faithfulness and love for us, does not change.
“When something changes, it changes for the better or the worse. But since God is already perfect, He cannot change for the better. And because God is God, He cannot change for the worse either.” (unknown)
Three Bible verses underline this thought:
- “For I am the Lord, I do not change” (Malachi 3:6).
- With God, there is “no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17).
- “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
Because our God does not change—unlike the world around us, ourselves, or our practical life of faith—we need not be afraid. We have an immovable, unchangeable, firm, solid rock on which we stand firm. A foundation that nothing can shake. At a time when even promises of faithfulness before the registrar are no longer valid, the faithfulness, reliability, and trustworthiness of our Lord remain unchanged!
“He who leans on the rock will not sink into the mire of disappointment.” (unknown)
Three other encouraging Scriptures, where “The First and the Last” appears:
- “Who has performed and done it, Calling the generations from the beginning? ‘I, the Lord, am the First; And with the last I am He’” (Isaiah 41:4). The point here is that our unchanging God directs and controls everything. His good thoughts and intentions, with which He pursues a good plan, do not change. He works for us!
- “I am the First, and I am the Last; Besides Me, there is no God. And who can proclaim as I do? Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me” (Isaiah 44:6-7). Because our Lord does not change, He knows exactly what will happen in the future. He sees the end of our path—which will come about in the same way due to its immutability.
- “These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: ‘I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan’” (Revelation 2:8-9). This unchanging Lord Jesus knows our tribulations—because He has experienced them Himself. He knows down to the minutest details how we may feel because He has lived through every conceivable human hardship Himself (with the exception of sin).
The Lord Jesus tells you today: “You need not be afraid! I am the only unchanging constant in this universe! You can trust me because I am truly reliable! I am your rock on which you can stand securely and your foundation that never wavers!”
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