Seasons Change, But God Remains

BY JORDAN MAYER
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​“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
(Isaiah 40:8)

Next to where I work, there is a network of walking and biking trails. Over the past year, I’ve made it a habit to get out of the office for a bit and take a walk through the woods. Besides being a nice mid-day retreat, I’ve found it to be an interesting way to experience the changing seasons.

I started walking the trails in early spring. At this point, the trees are bare, the air is cool, and the ground is peppered with patches of brown and white. But soon the seemingly lifeless wood springs forth into life. First a few green buds appear on the trees as flowers begin to poke through the ground. Day by day, the green begins to take back the forest. By the time summer arrives, the once desolate landscape is lush with life, the birds chirp happily overhead, and the air is warm on your skin. But in a few short months, the woods are transformed yet again. A chill is present in the air, the canopy of trees transition into a dazzling array of red, yellow, and orange. After a of couple weeks, the path I walk is littered with leaves and the trees overhead are bare. Soon the woods as I had known it before will take on a new character as it becomes covered in a blanket of white.

They say the only constant in life is change. Nature is an apt reminder of this idea in its predictable cycles and seasons. We know this intuitively from our daily life as well. Often we mark our lives by the significant changes and transitions that occur.

So when we read Isaiah 40:8, we are meant to see a stark contrast. Though the seasons change, or a new politician takes office, or a pandemic strikes, God's Word does not change. His Word does not change because God, himself, does not change. In Hebrews, we are reminded that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Why is this significant?

This is significant because His promises still stand. The Gospel is still the Good News for all the world. Ever since the beginning of creation, God has had a plan of redemption for His people. In His loving mercy He sent His Son into the world to die on our behalf, to pay the debt that we could never afford to pay. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). This gift of eternal life is still freely offered, the invitation is still open. Will you accept it?

And for us who are in Christ, we live in the confidence and assurance of these promises, waiting for their ultimate fulfillment when our Lord and Savior returns. When God made His promise to Abraham, to bless and multiply him, he swore an oath by Himself. "So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us" (Hebrews 6:17-18).

Praise God for His unchanging nature and His unfailing promises!