"Of course I can...I'm God!"

God is the same. Yesterday. Today. Forever. God does not change.

God does not change. Not with the seasons, or the weather, or the calendar. God is steadfast. Faithful. Unchanging. God. Does. Not. Change.

He has the power to change all things..after all He did create them..but He himself is the same God. He was before the beginning and he writes every end. God is.....well, GOD!

At this point you are probably thinking..."Tell me something I don't know!"

And I understand why you feel that way. We've all read Malachi 3:6,
“I am the Lord , and I do not change."  And that nagging in the back of your mind when you started reading this post is because we all know Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Don't tune out on me yet...just go with me on this.

God did change me.

And in my opinion, that is one of His biggest miracles to date. God completely changed my life. One minute I was hell bent...and hell bound...on destroying my life. The next I was redeemed. A miracle.

God came in and worked a mind blowing 360 in my life. He saved me, not because of the righteous things I had done. In all honesty, any good thing I did before God wasn't out of the goodness of my heart but to separate someone else from the goodness of theirs. But because of His mercy, He washed away my sins, giving me a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5).

I try to do what is right. God came to the help of those of us who gladly do right, who remember his ways. And most of the time, when I try with an honest effort, it's fairly easy. But since I sometimes continue to sin against His ways, I always assume that God gets OT angry with me. And it makes me doubt and question, "How then can I be saved?"  Even on my best days, I become like one who is unclean, and on my best behavior all my righteous acts are like filthy rags. No matter how hard I try I shrivel up like a leaf, and no matter how I try to stop them, like the wind my sins sweep me away (Isaiah 64:5-6).

Did anyone pick up on those two little words..I TRY!

I try...but...I change all the time. I change with the seasons. With the weather. With the calendar. I am not as nice as I normally am in the sweat of the summer heat. I am cranky when my feet get wet in the rain. There are holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries where I could kick cute lil puppies for sport. I change. I allow the outside to invade my inside and I have a Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde thing going on. I question. I doubt. I fear. I change from the daughter of the King to fleshy, flaky Netta.

I change all the time. And the Holy Spirit is working in, on, and through me to NOT change so quickly or easily but often times, especially if I am emotionally invested, I just miss the mark. I totally get where Paul was coming from when he said that though he knew what was right and tried to do it, he just could not. See Romans 7.

I must admit, though, that I do thank God for that particular brand of crazy. Because in those times...when I seem to hit rock bottom and fall all to pieces....God is faithful to be there and pick me up and put me back together again. Every single time.

When I go off my Word meds, when I misguidedly and often times well-intentionally try to slither in my flesh versus walking in the Spirit...the Holy Spirit is there to say...no, no, no, not like that..but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. This is how you do things now and against such things there is no law, no sin debt. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we now live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is there to pump the brakes and throw up the "Let us WWJD it and not become conceited, provoking and envying each other  like you used to do" signs (Galatians 5:22-26).

So. Let's recap. God does not change. Netta blows like a bed sheet in the wind. Got it? Okay moving right along.

There is good news. God knows me (see Psalm 139). He knew that I would be like this. He made me this way (see Jeremiah 1:5). When I allow myself to be blown about like a gold medal winning tumble weed or run around like a chicken with her head cut off. He just sits back and waits for me to remember what He has already told me...to remember who I am...to remember who He is.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord . “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it." Isaiah 55:8-9, 11.

It may seem to my crazed and whimsical natural eye that God has forgotten all about me. But the Lord isn’t really being slow about keeping his promise, as some people, namely ME, think. No, he is being patient for my sake. He is molding me, making me, maturing me. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent including me (2 Peter 3:9).

God changed me when he saved me. He saved me because He loves me. And because He loves me, He promises to bless me. And all I have to do in return is love Him back. See Psalm 37:4 and Malachi 3:10. And He makes it pretty clear how I should love him....“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37).

There are no strings attached to God's love. He loves me because it is who He is. And there is nothing that I could ever do to change that. See Romans 8:31-39. Even when my mind and heart seem to change like channels with the premium cable package. God looks at the hot, flaky and fickle mess that I am and simply says, “If you love me, keep my commands." John 14:15.

So. Let's make a deal. The next time I go crazy...the next time you do...and it looks like we are about to march ourselves outside and hang ourselves on the clothes line and say to the wind..."Here I am..blow away!"

Just remember.......

God does not change. We may change. The circumstances and situations around us may change. Perceptions and perspectives may change. Times, places, dates may change. But God does not change. He can not and therefore He does not.

God. Does. Not. Change. Amen!

And yes, here we are right back to that again...God does not change. Because I said all of that to share with you a revelation I got this morning from God after a bad couple of wind blowing days.

So. By now you know my drill. Praying. Crying out to God. Praying. Fussing at God. Praying. Crying myself to sleep. God letting me get it out of my system. (Yes, I KNOW! And today I can say the same thing but when I'm in it...I DON'T CARE!)

Me: I'm doing everything you told me to do. I've done it all. What am I doing wrong? What more do you want from me?

God:

Me: This hurts me. Take it away. I'm tired. I get it. Just make it stop.

God:

Me: If you wanted to stop this, you could! You shut down my crap when you saved me. If you wanted to change this, change me now we both know you could. You did it before...do it now!

God:

Me: God!?! Where are you? Don't you care? Do something! Say something!

God: If I wanted to change your heart I could. I would. If I wanted to....

Yup. See that? He dropped that word in my spirit like a bomb. If. I. Wanted. To. I sat straight up and did the only thing I could do. Praise him!

God does not change. If he gave you a Word about you...that is His bond. That word is money in the bank. He will not renege. He will not make excuses or blow you off. God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? (Numbers 23:19)

If God wanted to change your heart, He would. If He has not after you have prayed that He search your heart and reveal your offenses to you. If He has not even after He pointed out every other offense to you. Chances are that is all a part of His plan for you.

So. If you are at the point where you are wondering what in the world is going on...what in the world is the hold up...where in the world is God...

Stop right there. Slow your roll. Stay in your lane. You have your mission. Get busy.

You know all you need to know right now. You know nothing happens to you without God's permission and that if He is for you no one can stand against you. You know that He turns all things around for those who love him. Anything else is either because-I-said-so or need-to-know.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord , “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
                                                                   Jeremiah 29:11!