People react differently to change, and while some are more tolerant of it, even the most flexible can find themselves overcome with anxiety when they are life-altering ones. Getting married, moving, starting a new job or losing a loved one are examples of those kinds of impactful life disruptions. When change is imposed on you, it can feel like you have no control, leaving you feeling lonely, awkward, angry, depressed and self-conscious.
“Improvise, adapt, overcome” is the unofficial motto of the U.S. Marine Corps (and Hollywood’s favorite survivalist, Bear Grylls). And while it is intended to encourage people to creatively overcome the challenges that come with unexpected change, sometimes clichés just don’t cut it. It isn’t as easy as “getting back on the horse,” “forging ahead” or “picking yourself back up.” Unforeseen disturbances can put you into a real tailspin.
There are three truths that tether Christians to hope no matter what comes. The first is the unchangeable character of God. He is not like us. He isn’t “becoming” and He doesn’t evolve. He doesn’t grow older and wiser. He was, is and always will be infinite and immortal. “For I the Lord do not change” (Mal. 3:6). The One Who said, “Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off” will not and cannot change. He is predictably constant. Of Him Psalm 102:27 says, “But You are the same, and Your years have no end.”
The second anchor of hope is that God’s purposes do not shift. He does not alter course, and His objectives are never modified. He does not “move the goalpost.” What God intended before He created the earth He intends right now. He does not succumb to pressure and is unaffected by circumstances or conditions.
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? (Num. 23:19)
The third principle of hope during crisis is grounded in God’s providence. That is to say that His actions are consistent with His unchangeable character and His steadfast purpose. The way in which He carries out His plan is not haphazard. He does not lash out in anger or fail to act. Where it says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose,” it is communicating that the manner in which “all things” are working together are happening precisely according to His plan.
In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him Who works all things according to the counsel of His will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of His glory. (Eph. 1:11–12)
Your future with Him is directly connected to all three of these principles. God’s character, purpose and providence lead to hope in Christ. That puts all forms of change into a whole new light. Circumstances may cause you to pivot in unexpected ways, but none of it is a surprise to God. It is going exactly the way He intends it to.
If you’re struggling to see the hope at the end of the tunnel, remember that God is unchangeable in character, steadfast in purpose and consistent in action. Like the child in a play pool that thinks he’s drowning, all you have to do is put your feet down to find the foundation. It’s there and it’s not moving. Hope in Christ.
[Stanza two and the chorus of “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less” by Edward Mote]When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
in every high and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the veil.On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand:
all other ground is sinking sand;
all other ground is sinking sand.
I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.” (Is. 46:9–10)