Unchanging Hope in an Ever-Changing World

by Pastor Dan

Many of these articles are written out of conversations or experiences in my life.  When we look at the recent experiences in our lives in the political landscape, we know that this is an ever-changing thing.  Maybe you have even had an experience in your life that has made you realize that life itself can be ever changing?  Many times when this happens, we can lose hope in something or wish things could be different.  For me, hope is something I need, and so my goal is to base my hope on something that I know does not change.  Now, I must admit that sometimes it is hard to focus on the unchanging when life is swirling around me so fast that I have trouble keeping up with it.  As I was sharing this with a group of people recently, the question posed to me was:  Where in the Bible can we find passages that refer to this?   Well, I am glad you asked!   I turned to Psalms 33.  We read it together, and I post it here for you to read:  â€œThe king is not saved by a mighty army; a warrior is not delivered by great strength.  A horse is a false hope for victory; nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.  Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope for His lovingkindness, to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine.  Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.  For our heart rejoices in Him, because we trust in His holy name.  Let Your lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us, according as we have hoped in You. (Psalm 33:16-22)

As we were reading this, the word “fear” became the highlight of the conversation.  Fear -- not afraid, but in awe of or in reverence to.  I am not afraid of God but instead, through experiences in life, I have come to trust, to wait, to look beyond myself and even my circumstances.  To be honest with you, the times I do get caught up in my circumstances, I find myself asking the following question:  Is there anything in my life I am not properly seeing that is taking away from my awe and worship of God?  As we were sharing together, there were things we realized that we needed to find, once again, our awe and worship of God, who does not change.  We look deep inside and understand that there is a longing in the depths of our heart to seek the unchanging.  It will give us strength to deal with the things that do change in the world around us.  Secondly, this longing is fulfilled in Jesus Christ because we find peace in the middle of the chaos.  In the peace, we find wisdom and courage to face the chaos and uncertainty around us, which in turn gives us hope.  When our longing finds peace, we gain hope in the unchanging power of God.  That is when trust comes to the forefront, just as the Psalmist said, “because we trust in His Holy Name.”  

May we never forget that “some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” (Psalm 20:7)  May God bless you.

Blessings,
Pastor Dan