"I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days, You Whose years continue throughout all generations. At the beginning You existed and laid the foundations of the earth; the heavens are the work of Your hands. They shall perish, but You shall remain and endure; yes, all of them shall wear out and become old like a garment. Like clothing You shall change them, and they shall be changed and pass away. But You remain the same, and Your years shall have no end. The children of Your servants shall dwell safely and continue, and their descendants shall be established before You." - King David
When your life seems like it is over (prematurely aging and wasting away), God remains the same.
He endures when you cannot. His years shall never end or come to failure. Though His creation perishes, wears out and becomes old, He increases in strength, might and power.
The Hebrew writer wrote:
"THEREFORE, WHILE the promise of entering His rest still holds and is offered [today], let us be afraid [to distrust it], lest any of you should think he has come too late and has come short of [reaching] it." (Heb 4:1)
In spite of all your failures, the promise of [YOU NAME IT- your own business, non-profit organization, ministry, marriage, children, etc.] ahead of you still stands. Don't be afraid to trust in what God has promised or put in your future; no matter how overdue, farfetched or impossible it seems.
It is never too late to possess the biggest dream that is still in your heart.
In Og Mandino's book, The Greatest Salesman in the World, he writes:
"Failure will never overtake you if your determination to succeed is strong enough...Obstacles are necessary for success because in selling, as in all careers of importance, victory comes only after many struggles and countless defeats. Yet each struggle, each defeat, sharpens your skills and strengths, your courage and your endurance, your ability and your confidence and thus each obstacle is a comrade in arms forcing you to become better...or quit. Each rebuff is an opportunity to move forward; turn away from them, avoid them, and you throw away your future."
God changes not.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, because He is the perfect imprint and very image of [God's] nature. But as fallen humanity, He requires us to be constantly changed into His image, nature and character.
Matthew records what Jesus did when He saw the stout, unbelieving heart of those who saw His miracles, knew of promises of old and yet still did not believe He was the Messiah:
"Then He began to censure and reproach the cities in which most of His mighty works had been performed, because they did not repent [and their hearts were not changed]."
Are you willing to have a change of mind?
If you will change your thoughts (what you meditate on), you will change your heart; and if your heart changes, so will your words and destiny.
The Apostle Paul wrote: "But be ye transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]." (Rom. 12:2)
The Word of God is a living book; it is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the deepest parts of our nature.
His Word identifies and drives bad habits out of our lives to replace them with godly and live changing ones.
Og Mandino adds in His book: "For it is another of nature's laws that only a habit can subdue another habit." In other words, a constructive behavior must fill the void left by the destructive one. An edifying thought must drive out intrusive, lying and tormenting thought that repeats the offenses (and injustices) of others suffered in your life.
God is bigger than what men have done or put you through.
God was bigger than Egypt, bigger than Pharaoh, bigger than his defiance, bigger than slavery, bigger than poverty, bigger than the Red Sea, Jericho and the giants that inhabited their land.
But His people had to change their complaining and destructive habits that kept them circling around the same mountain for 38 years.
How long will you let that habit (or passive conduct) keep you from that promotion, fire you from jobs, end promising relationships and damage your next generation (children?)
Are you willing to put a plan together of breaking old habits that have enslaved you?
You have a responsibility to be enshrined in the Hall of Faith one day. That means, you must end your life the same way you began it; the birthplace of a seed or secret weapon that confounds the Herods (abortionists of purpose) of this day.
But the bad habits in your life must be dealt with and die "hard" to Christ.
Today, the promise still holds. It is still in front of you. You are not behind schedule; you have not come to late or short of reaching it. It is God's Word or promise; therefore, He can still bring it to pass. You can still declare it with faith, hope and expectation.
Despite the fact that:
· People change
· Jobs change
· Economies change
· Your children, health, industry and expectations change...
God remains the same.
He is faithful when the opinion, habits and diagnosis of men are unreliable.
