New Year But God Is Still The Same God
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8
Recently, I have been reflecting on the things God has done in my life. I actually got my journal out and made a list. I went back to my teenage years and just marked the “milestones” that I remember, and I consider as markers in my testimony of my walk with the Lord. As I look back at all those years it remains evident that it is always a new and different year, but God is always the same. I am the one that has changed, the one that He is working in and molding.
Hebrews 13:8 is a verse I think of and say fairly often: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). It’s an easy verse to remember and use. If we reflect on the meaning of the words “yesterday and today and forever” it can take on a new big picture. We can read the bible with clarity and understand that the God of Abraham, Noah, Moses, Mary, Paul, Peter, and so on is the exact same God I am journaling about in my own life.
In Psalm 143:5-6, David is reflecting on all that God has done when he says, “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah”.
Psalm 111:2 says, “Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.”
In Daniel 6:26-27, we see the king declare God as the living God forever because he witnessed Daniel being saved from the Lion’s den. It says, “I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.”
We see verses like Joshua 21:45, “Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass” and testifying to the good promises of God.
If you are a new Christian and have not started a journal yet, then start now. You can begin recording your moments with the Lord and then begin looking back at all the Lord has done in your life. You can read the Bible and trust their stories and believe that the God who worked it out for them is the same one working it out for you now.
By faith we believe that God is the same. It is that faith that brings us comfort. It is through that faith we recognize God working in our lives. It is that faith in Him that brings Him glory.
Reflecting on His goodness and His works in our life are biblical. This action and attention show we take delight in Him and allows us to give Him praise and recognition for all He has done, yesterday, today and in the future.
-Rebecca
