YOUR ONE CONSTANT IN CHANGE

Malachi chapter 3




Today we are walking in: Your One Constant in Change







Today we look to the word- CHANGE- H2015- haphak- a primitive root; to turn about or over; by implication, to change, overturn, return, pervert:—become, change, come, be converted, give, make (a bed), overthrow overturn), perverse, retire, tumble, turn (again, aside, back, to the contrary, every way).












The Torah Testifies…………….






Genesis 35:2




Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that werewith him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change H2015 your garments:




Leviticus 27:10




He shall not alter it, nor change H2015 it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change H2015 beast for beast, then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy.





Leviticus 27:33




He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change H2015 it: and if he change H2015 it at all, then both it and the change H2015 thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.












The Prophets Proclaim………





Jeremiah 2:36




Why gaddest thou about so much to change H2015 thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.






Zechariah 3:4




And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change H2015 of raiment.






Malachi 3:6




For I am the LORD, I change H2015 not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.










The Writings witness……………





Job 14:14




If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change H2015 come.






Psalm 102:26




They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change H2015 them, and they shall be changed:






Proverbs 24:21




My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change H2015:




Your One Constant in Change




Nothing Is Permanent Except Yah and His Promises




I the Most Highdo not change. —Malachi 3:6




In the popular television series Lost, the character Desmond experiences time travel due to an electromagnetic abnormality. Yet this is a different form of time travel. Only his consciousness travels from his present self to his past self. Then, the process begins alternating, so that his mind repeatedly travels from present to past and back again. This experience is severely disorienting to him. The continual exchange begins to overload his mind because he has lost his stabilizing sense of continuity in life.




While in the present, Desmond witnesses the same phenomenon happen to another man—whose mind totally rejects what is happening. This man can’t maintain a disjointed existence, and he dies of apparent shock. Desmond knows he is headed for the same fate. In a desperate search for a way to save his own life, he seeks out an experimental physics professor. The professor tells him that in order to stop the mental time travel, he has to find someone whom he knows both in his past and in his present who can function as his “constant.” Desmond successfully identifies his constant, his mind regains its continuity, the time travel ceases, and he is able to continue his life in the present.




In the ever changing world in which we live, many people experience a bit of what Desmond did. We orient our lives based on what we’ve experienced in the past and the habits and mind-sets we’ve developed over the years. Sometimes, the mind-set of the past can clash with the present, as well as with the future that is unfolding in our lives, causing our minds to try to reject the changes. Other times, we may be trying to make changes that will move us forward into our preferred futures, only to find the past repeatedly seeming to interfere with our progress.




Whether we are responding to change or creating it, we must have an element in our lives that is permanent and stable—something that transcends the past, the present, and the future. We need to keep our minds and hearts grounded in who we are, where we are going, and the values by which we conduct our lives. We need a “constant,” if you will. There is only One who can fill this need.




The Unchangeable One




Our one constant in the midst of change is our Creator Yah. Despite the fact that everything on earth changes, Yah declares, “I the Most Highdo not change” (Malachi 3:8). This statement does not imply that Yah is stagnant, unimaginative, or archaic. Neither does it mean that His modes of operation are unchanging. The opposite is true. Genesis, the first book recorded by Moses, introduces Yah as Creator. He is the original innovator who initiated the principle of change on earth.




The unchanging nature of the Creator can be compared to the nature of a fundamental principle. Principles are designated as such because they are consistent. The Creator never changes, in the sense that He is invariable in His nature, character, and integrity. His acts may change, but His essential ways never change.




The Scripture says, “Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:16–17).




The writer of the book of Hebrews said, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship Yah acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘Yah is a consuming fire’” (Hebrews 12:28–29, emphasis added).




Everything else is changing, but Yah remains the same. This gives us confidence in the midst of unsettling times.




When Barack Obama was about to be inaugurated president of the United States, an atheist protested against the president-elect placing his right hand on the Bible to swear the oath of office because the atheist said it was against his beliefs, and he considered it to be a violation of his conscience. Some might say he was correct because of their concept of the separation of ministry and state. Yet, the fact is, the Creator is our only permanency, and ignoring Him or our need for Him in this way would be like removing the only unshakable thing from the office of the presidency. Presidents come and go, but in Yah, there’s no shifting. Ultimately, to have permanency in our changing world, our nations must be built on Yah, not on people. Our leaders—whether they are presidents, prime ministers, or chairpersons—will fail. But Yah is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We need to put our faith and trust in Him. We can put no real confidence in anything else, for nothing and no one besides Yah is completely trustworthy and reliable.




Recognizing that Yah’s nature is unchanging is crucial to our understanding of His activities in the lives of human beings and our interpretation of the changes we experience in our generation and world. The greatest security against the disorientation and disruptions of change is our reliance on the unchanging Yah.




Permanent Promises




Yah is predictable only in the sense that His nature is unchanging. He is always true to Himself, and He is always true to His word. We can’t count on 100 percent truthfulness from any human being, but we can count on Yah’s truthfulness and faithfulness. Moses declared, “Yah is not a man, that he should lie” (Numbers 23:19). Let’s look at just a few additional Scriptures that talk about the unchanging nature of Yah’s promises.




Centuries ago, the psalmist wrote, “Righteous are you, O Lord, and your laws are right....Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them” (Psalm 119:137, 140). The author of the psalm said, in effect, “I’ve tested Yah’s promises. Time has tested them. And they are still standing.”




Another psalm states, “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Most Highis faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made” (Psalm 145:13). Our Creator made us, and He is faithful to all His promises. No matter what changes may come your way, you can depend on Him to fulfill what He promised. If you are meant to have something because Yah promised it, you will have it, as you receive it in faith and trust in Him to provide it. If you seem to have lost something that Yah has promised, then you will regain it or its equivalent as you exercise faith and perseverance. You can give thanks that it is on the way.




Paul wrote, “For no matter how many promises Yah has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Hamachiach. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of Yah” (2 Corinthians 1:20). If Yah promised it, it’s going to happen, regardless of what else occurs. No matter what other people predict about the future, if Yah has promised something, you can say, “Glory! It is done.”




The Promise Paradox




The only two permanent realities in our lives are Yah and His promises. Yet one of Yah’s own unchanging promises assures us that nothing on earth is permanent!




One reason for this is Yah’s creative nature. If you are a creative person, you’re always coming up with new things. That’s the nature of Yah. He is continually refining what He has created, as well as “doing a new thing” (Isaiah 43:19). Some people like to think that they have Yah figured out. They believe that because Yah doesn’t change, He won’t do anything differently than what they’ve already seen Him do. When He brings or allows change in their lives in order to further His purposes for them, they don’t know how to react to it. The change unsettles them because they didn’t expect it. Yah Himself doesn’t change, but He’s always working in our lives—and His work involves transformation. Be assured that Yah is going to allow something in your life to change.




If you read the Scriptures, you won’t find any account of Yah performing two miracles in exactly the same way. People often try to make doctrines out of methods Yah has used in the past instead of realizing that it is His nature, rather than His specific acts, that is permanent. The results of those acts may be permanent, but His actions will vary. Why? Yah is too creative to repeat Himself. His creative nature promotes change. Unless we understand this, we may constantly struggle against the changes He wants to promote in our lives—changes intended to help us to grow and to fulfill the reasons for our existence.




Let me put one note of caution here: This is not to say we should be apathetic and just accept everything that comes into our lives as Yah’s will for us. Rather, we must learn to respond to changing circumstances, keeping in mind His ways and His purposes for us.




This knowledge will enable us to deal with whatever changes come our way. Everything in this world is changeable. Again, we aren’t guaranteed that our jobs will last, that our loved ones will always be with us in this life, and so forth. But we do know that we can rely on the unchangeable Yah and His promises in any critical changes we experience.




I believe in this principle so completely that I’ve already thought through a number of difficult scenarios that could happen to me or my family and how I might respond to them—anything from losing my home to losing a family member. “Isn’t that a lack of faith?” some may ask. No, I have faith in Yah’s promises, and one of His promises is that everything on earth is only for a season. “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). He has said that we’ll go through difficulties in life, but that nothing can separate us from His love. (See Romans 8:35–39.) I prepare for any eventuality because, as we noted earlier, Yahusha warned His disciples that they would experience difficult times, and He said, in effect, “I told you these things so you won’t be offended.” Critical change won’t offend me to the point of questioning Yah and His love, because I know that He has warned us about it. Once, when Yahusha was describing Yah’s overall plan for those who believe in Him, He said, “If it were not so, I would have told you” (John 14:2). Yah keeps His Word. He tells us how things are. He comforts us, but He doesn’t give us false promises. If things were any different, He would have told us. He’s Someone whom we can count on completely to tell us the truth and to prepare us to handle it.




Many people in Western society have been led to believe that nothing they value in their lives should change, unless it changes by increasing in size or worth. Therefore, they think they will always have their houses, have full bank accounts, have money for expensive vacations and electronics, and so forth. Increasingly, many people expect that they should automatically have such things, regardless of whether they work for them. The good life should be guaranteed, according to them, because “it’s the American dream,” or for other reasons.

A similar attitude is being taught by some within the Christian church. People are told that Yah wants them to be successful, so they can always expect “the good life.” This theology, however, has produced believers who cannot handle change. Instead of being taught the permanency of Yah’s nature and character, they have been taught that Yah promises the permanency of things. In other words, they hear that if they have faith, they can build up wealth and happiness and keep things this way for the rest of their lives.




Certainly, we should have faith in Yah’s promises. Yet He never guarantees there won’t be times when we’ll have to hold on to His promises no matter what things appear to be, and against all odds. In the Scriptures, people who were called by Yah to further His purposes and gain His blessings often lost things before they received something better.




Abraham had to leave his country and family in order to receive a great blessing from Yah. Moreover, he and his wife, Sarah, had to forgo having a child in their youth in order to receive a miracle child in their old age. This delay was the result of Yah’s purpose, not a lack of faith. Joseph lost seemingly everything: the experience of his father’s favor, his boyhood home, and his family inheritance— when his brothers sold him into slavery. Then, he was falsely accused and forgotten in jail for years before he was promoted to the role of Pharaoh’s right-hand man in Egypt. Similarly, the changes and transitions that come our way are part of the process, and we must hold firmly to Yah’s nature and purposes in the midst of them so that we can arrive safely at the destination He intended. Many people have forfeited their rewards because they’ve questioned Yah’s love or even their own faith.




Again, life is not meant to continue on the way it always has been. It is meant to become the way it’s supposed to be next. So, we need to try our best to learn Yah’s purposes for us, to ask Him to guide us, and to discern what is next. In this way, we will not become overwhelmed by the present on our way to the future. To us, life is unpredictable. To Yah, life is always moving toward the fulfillment of His ultimate purposes.




Preparing our hearts and minds for any eventuality will help take the sting out of change. And we must remember that Yah is with us in all the changes we experience. He prepares us for change, and He’s never surprised by it. For example, we all know that death is inevitable. That is the ultimate critical change we will experience. But Yahusha has already conquered death for us. While still on earth, He knew that His death on our behalf was coming, and He prepared Himself for it. In this sense, He conquered death even before He died. The battle was won in His mind and heart when He said to Yah the Father, “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). And so, the Scriptures say, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). We know that death still exists for the time being. But it’s like a bee that has lost its sting. While we will all have to die, Yahusha has already provided for that change. He has gone before us in death, and we will follow Him into resurrection if we trust in Him. And so, we can live with the understanding that we must prepare for the inevitability of death while still having the eternal, unchangeable hope of resurrection with Hamachiach.




Yah wants us to live with a clear understanding of the nature of change in our lives so that we’ll be spared the stress of fighting against it. Again, everything has a season; nothing is permanent—except Yah and His promises. That statement goes two ways. It’s not only the “good” things that are temporary or seasonal. Whatever difficulty you are going through is also only for a season. Whatever is happening to you will not last.




Yah Is Doing “A New Thing”




Our Creator knows that it is sometimes difficult for us to accept the changes He is making in our lives. He knows that we often expect things to remain the same, and that we get used to Him working in a certain way. So, He gave us some encouragement in the book of the prophet Isaiah: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:18–19). To “see” refers to observing. Sometimes, we don’t recognize what’s happening to us, around us, and in us. Yah says, “Open your eyes and study your environment. What do you perceive?”




Do you perceive the new things Yah is doing in your life? Stay in touch with Him through prayer and reading His Word so you won’t become overwhelmed by change in your life. Stay close to Him, because His character doesn’t change. David, the poet-warrior-king, wrote, “Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea” (Psalm 46:2). How could he say that? Because he trusted in Yah as his “strong tower” (Psalm 61:3) and his “rock” (Psalm 18:2).




Is the Creator Yah Your Constant?




Do you know your “Constant”? You must rely on the Unchangeable One in the midst of change to keep yourself stable in times of transition and upheaval. Again, seek to understand and interpret the changes in your life so that they don’t shake you. Instead, use them to move forward in Yah’s purposes for your life. You may even experience a time when there are so many changes that you begin to wonder, Is Yah against me? This is the time to remember that He allows change to come in order to fulfill His purposes in us and through us. These vital principles of change will help see you through:




1. Nothing is permanent except Yah and His promises.




2. Yah’s character and nature are unchanging.




3. Yah promises us that nothing on earth is permanent.




4. Yah uses change to advance His purposes in our lives.




The eternal Yah is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. —Deuteronomy 33:27