He Is Forever The Same
Hebrews 13:8
Hebrews 13:8 is a scripture that we have memorized and quote frequently. It is easy to remember and it brings encouragement into whatever situation we find ourselves in. Yet as I began to meditate on this scripture yesterday, I asked myself where I struggled the most in believing. Was it in the promises of yesterday? I can easily pick up my Bible or one of my prayer journals and read all the answered prayers, and recall His faithfulness throughout my life, and throughout the pages of scripture. The yesterdays are easily believable.
I can also read the future prophecies and know they will come to pass. We have more than a few thousand years of history, and seen multiple prophecies come to pass. All of them continue to build and fuel our faith for every word to be fulfilled in its perfect time. We hold on to those scriptures and believe they will come to pass…they are a part of His forever faithfulness.
Chapter 13 is the closing chapter of Hebrews. Verse 8 is linked to chapter 1:10-12. “You in the beginning laid the foundations of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish but You will remain; And they will grow old like a garment; Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed, but You are the same, And Your years will not fail.” From Genesis to Revelation, He remains the same….faithful!
If I believe that He was faithful yesterday, and last month, and last year; and I know that He will remain faithful until I take my last breath…it is sometimes a struggle to believe for the moment that we are in. Maybe it is just me, but I do find myself looking for the yesterday and the promise in forever, to encourage me in the today. Why? Today just feels like an ordinary day. Yet all our days are ordinary until we expect and allow the extraordinary to happen. It is called hope; the expectation of the supernatural in our lives. God created our natural lives, but He is a supernatural God. We should live everyday with the expectation of miracles.
What exactly is a miracle? In the NT it is the Greek word Semeion. It means-miraculous, sign, signal, wonder, token. They are supernatural signs and wonders from God to mankind. They cannot happen in the natural realm, and God uses us to bring them about. Revisit the miracles in both the old and new testaments and you will see that God brought about the miraculous through His earthen vessels….us!
While today might seem like just another ordinary day, and we may be struggling to believe for anything exceptional; I pray that we would cultivate and fill our hearts and minds with faith to believe for the supernatural. Not simply to receive something, but to be a conduit of His power, grace, and mercy to others.
“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders of Israel; if we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands before you whole.” Acts 4:8-10