I hope that today you find some encouragement in this post. Our world is going through a very tough time right now. Some of you may have a friend or family member who has been infected with the coronavirus, the disease that has our world bent over in turmoil right now; you may even have been infected yourself. But don't freak out or worry or be afraid through this time, because God has a plan, and the coronavirus doesn't even take up a whole paragraph in His book. So, don't fret. Don't hoard toilet paper or tissues or canned goods. Remember that if you are a Christian, even if you catch this virus, you have no reason whatsoever to fear. You know where you're going; and once God has chosen you to go there, He will never change His mind.
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That's what I am going to be talking about today: God's immutability. What does that even mean? Well, this Biblical passage should help you understand better.
God is not human, that He should lie,
not a human being, that He should change His mind.
Does He speak and then not act?
Does He promise and not fulfill?
Numbers 23:19 NIV
Before I answer the question I started this post with, I am going give you some context to this verse. This verse is part of a message from God that He told Balak, king of Moab, through Balaam the prophet. It's actually one in a series of messages that Balaam delivered to the Moabite king on behalf of the Lord. You see, Balak had seen the Israelite camp in the desert, and he was afraid of their number and strength. So, before they were able to go to battle with him and defeat him (which was what he thought they were going to do), he asked Balaam the prophet to curse the Israelites for him so that Moab would be able to defeat them. Long story short, God told Balaam to tell Balak that he wouldn't curse the Israelites because they were God's chosen people.
Now, if you were in Balak's shoes, what would you do? You have two choices: accept God's answer and not bother Him again or try to get Him to change His mind. I think that most of us would try to get God to change His mind, right? We naturally want our way, and it seems unfair to us when we do not get it.
Well, guess what. Balak asked Balaam again to curse the Israelites. And Balaam said no. Then the king said to himself, “It's worth a try,” and asked again. Guess what the prophet said? No. Balak asked three times, and each time Balaam refused because God said no every time. Balaam explained to Balak that God would never change His mind about this or anything in the verse above. He says that God is not like a human, who believes one thing today and a different thing tomorrow. When God says something, it will happen; when He promises something, that promise will be fulfilled. God said that Balaam would not curse the Israelites, and Balaam was not going to curse them, no matter how many times Balak asked him to.
So now that that's done, what is immutability? The dictionary definition of immutability is “not capable of or susceptible to change,” which just means that whatever this thing is that's immutable (God, in this case) cannot change. But I thought God could do anything! Well, my dad recently explained it to me this way: God is perfect. If something is perfect, why would it change? Not to get better or to fix an aspect of itself, because perfection cannot get better, and it does not need to be fixed. If the perfect God changed, He wouldn't be perfect anymore. Right?
So, if God says that He's not going to curse someone, He won't curse that person, because that would mean that He changed His mind (and God can't do that). This is a reason that we can trust the Bible, because God wrote it, and God won't change His mind on anything that He says (or writes). This fact is expressed by Isaiah 40:8, which says “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever” (NIV).
Now, one thing that comes to mind when you think about this is the cases when it seems like God does change His mind. For example, think back to the story of Jonah. God told Jonah to deliver a message to the Ninevites, and after a rebellious boat ride and a few days in a fish belly, Jonah arrived in Nineveh. When he got there, he told the Ninevites that God said that in forty days Nineveh would be destroyed because of the sins of those who lived there. Naturally, the people didn't want this to happen, so they tried to find their faults. They recognized their wrongdoings and repented for them. Then comes God's response to their repentance in Jonah 3:10, which says, “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He relented and did not bring on them the destruction He had threatened” (NIV).
Well that's nice for the Ninevites. But wait! God said that He would destroy them, and then He backed out of His promise? I just said He couldn't do that! Well, it's time for another dad definition. God's message through Jonah was that they had 40 days until this overthrow, implying that if they didn't repent within forty days, He would destroy them. And they did repent, so God didn't destroy them, but He told them that He wouldn't be merciful again if they went back to doing wrong. Speeding ahead to Nahum, they did start sinning again, and God, true to His word, destroyed them.
Notice how in the verse in Numbers up above the author says that God is not a human. It means that yes, God is not human, but also that God is not like a human in the way He acts; He won't lie to trick someone or say something and then change His mind. No, God is completely trustworthy.
Now, that is an especially good difference between God and man. It means that God is perfect because it implies that He can't change for the better; and it means that man can change. Think about it: what's something that we would not be able to do if we could not change? We wouldn't be able to become Christians! Human nature is wickedness, which means that if we could not change, then we would stay wicked forever, no matter how many times Jesus died on the cross and then rose again to save us from our sins. We would never be able to accept the gift of salvation that God offers us because that gift changes us from wicked to pure! Thank God that He created us to be able to be changed!
At the beginning of this post, I said that I wanted to encourage you today. How is this encouraging, that God doesn't change? Well, it points out if you have accepted Christ as you Savior, you can have peace that whatever happens, during the coronavirus or otherwise, you are going to heaven; and you can be sure of this because God has promised it. You don't have to be anxious, because you are going to live with God for eternity. You aren't afraid of death, because you are going to paradise! Jeremiah 29:11 says, “'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'” (NIV). Once God makes those plans, He's not going to take them back!
For those who aren't Christians, however, this is a very scary time, even worse than they realize; because if something happens to them, now or otherwise, they are going to the opposite of heaven: hell. They will be spending eternity in torment while we are forever joyful and thankful. This is a better time than ever to tell them how to have peace in Christ, to witness to them! Please, fulfill your Biblical responsibility and tell others about Jesus' sacrifice!
If you yourself are not yet saved, please ask the Lord now to forgive you of your wrongdoings and to cleanse your heart. After this, show yourself a dedicated follower of Christ by being an example for others, reading the Bible, praying, and witnessing. Also, don't forget that the Lord will give you peace, as He promised (Philippians 4:6-7).
As your “homework,” please read the following verses: 1 Kings 8:56; 2 Kings 19:25; Psalm 110:4a; Isaiah 46:11. Once you are finished, pray that the Lord will give you peace through this bitter time. Ask Him to give you rest in the fact that you are His child. Also pray that He would help you to trust in His promises, because when He says something, He will fulfill His words.
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