Jesus Never Changes

By Chloe

When the Heart of It All series first started coming out, although I’d read the posts, I felt the series was too heady and theological for me. It was probably good for someone else, but too much for me to get into. As each article came out, I’d read it, but honestly didn’t feel I was getting too much out of it. One day someone mentioned that reading that series really helped them appreciate the Lord more, in getting to know His personality and studying more in depth about His nature. So I decided to commit to studying the new ones as they come out, to see if I could get that same sense of awe and closeness to Jesus, too.

At that time, my husband and I had just come out of a year and a half where battles never ended. He was very sick and had been in and out of the hospital for months, and had to have an operation. His condition is something we are still praying for a miracle for. Alongside his health problems, we had legal issues, and then the financial burdens of trying to support ourselves, and the hospital bills increasing by the day. I felt my faith and strength being tested to the limit. My ability to trust that God was really watching over us and truly loved us, with all we were facing, was rapidly diminishing. The network of support that I had known for so many years was gone, and it was now just us and Him.

One day, under the shade of a cherry tree with the beautiful sunshine and warmth of spring, I was sitting outside with my reader and I slowly read the Heart of It All post aboutGod’s Immutability. My mind kept wandering as I read, but as I persevered, I was able to focus on what I was reading. At the end of the article I came to the verse, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today and forever.”1 I decided to meditate on this.

Starting with the first words “Jesus Christ,” I thought long about Jesus, who He was, Him being God in human form, His name being so blessed and wonderful and called on in time of desperation.

I then added “is”—Jesus Christ is… One definition given for “is” in the dictionary was to “be present.” Jesus Christ is present. Jesus is present with me. He simply is!

Then I added “the.” “The” refers to something singular; it’s not they or many, but one. One definition is “used to refer to a person, place, or thing that is unique.” So Jesus Christ is present and is unique.

The next word I meditated on was “same.” Jesus Christ is the same. “Same” means identical, not different. I thought about days when the sun was shining in my life and Jesus was just wonderful to me. If He was not different now, then why would I look at Him differently, even though my world seemed to be tumbling around me? Jesus had never changed. I was the one who had changed. I had let what was happening in my life change the way I viewed Christ. Jesus never changes, so how can He be any less great now than He was in times past? This thought hit me like a ray of sunshine. I realized I had found something to hold on to and that my faith in Christ wasn’t about what happened to me.

I never got past the word “same” in my meditation, but I think I got the point. I knew that whatever happened, whatever dark clouds may gather, and whatever twists and turns the road of my life may take, Jesus wouldn’t change. What had changed was my view of Him—not Him, not His love, not His ability to reach down and take care of little me and my problems. Whatever the future may bring, Jesus will never change. My faith in Him was not weak no matter what the circumstances were, because He is not weak. My faith was in Him, and He is great! So I can have great faith.

This new perspective in my faith was welcome and needed, because when the reboot had come, followed by all these battles right afterwards, I felt as if we were going through the washing machine. Round and round we went, becoming more and more wrinkled and waterlogged with every turn, and just when I thought the cycle was over, then came the drying. The heat and intensity of that cycle was simply too much to bear, and I wondered if we could ever be of use again. But once clothes have been washed clean and dried, they are folded and placed on the shelves to be worn again.

That’s where we are at. We may still be sitting on the shelf waiting to be given direction to know where we are supposed to be headed, but if God saw fit to put us through the wash and dryer, He has a plan. At some point in time we will be worn again and be better able to do whatever we were designed for. I don’t know that this experience has made me a better person, or that I am going to be used greatly because of it, but I do know that it tested me to my limit, and I can truly say now that I trust Him more completely, and with a greater depth than I did before, and for that, I thank Him.



PS: Here’s a poem the Lord brought to mind that I wrote a few years ago:

Heartaches and sorrow,
Blood, sweat and tears,
Are things we experience
Throughout all the years.

They melt us and break us,
And help us to grow,
Adding richness and color
And a lot more than we know.

It brings us closer to another
And more love flows around,
As we stop to help each other
Up off the rocky ground.

The secret and the ballast
To surviving through a storm,
Is to cling to the Rock
When all else is old and worn.

Jesus is the Rock
And He’s the one thing in life,
That gives me peace, comfort,
And an inner love and light.

He’s to me more valuable
With each passing day,
And I want to become pliable
Just like the potter’s clay.

So He can mold and make me
The vessel fit for use,
That will be just what He wants
To get out His words of truth,

To this lost and lonely nation
That Jesus came to save,
Those He gave His life for
From the cradle to the grave.

His love is never dying,
His patience has no end.
His grace is insurmountable,
And on Him you can depend.

He’s the lover of all loves
Our King, our Lord, our guide.
Our helper, our protector
And He’s always by our side.

Forever watching over us,
From heaven up above.
Everything He does,
Is always in great love.

Jesus, precious Jesus,
You’re in complete control.
You have me in Your hand
And You can make me whole.

You fix my wounded spirit
And give me joy unknown.
You help me see things like You do,
From upon Your throne.

You do this since You love me,
And because You care.
I know I can thank You
For Your answering my prayer,

To be made into the vessel,
Fit for the potter’s use,
To give out Your words of love
And Your beautiful truth.


1 Hebrews 13:8.