Words to Live By
I have often heard that you should refrain from using the words always and never when you’re discussing things with loved ones; things that are disturbing, disappointing or hurtful. “You NEVER do this’” or “You ALWAYS do that.” Chances are, neither of those statements are entirely true and it just adds more contention and strife than what’s already evident. While this may hold true in our earthly relationships, the words ALWAYS and NEVER are absolute words that you can use when you’re describing the nature of God and His relationship with you.
There’s actually a new Christian song out right now called “Never” by Tasha Layton. In the chorus of the song, she sings that she is NEVER forgotten, NEVER forsaken, NEVER abandoned, and NEVER let down, all because He’s NEVER not working. God is ALWAYS with us, ALWAYS faithful, and He ALWAYS loves us. Hebrews 6:17 “God also bound Himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that He would NEVER change His mind.” Perfectly sure…to me, that sounds like ALWAYS!
God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He will never fail us because His word is truth and His word is full of promises that He is faithful to always keep. James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Every…there’s another absolute word…every good thing comes from our Heavenly Father. If you don’t believe that, you need to follow the trail. For example, my husband got a splinter out of his hand. You might think that’s nothing, but hear me out. I praise God for that because He gave Dennis good vision and steady hands. He gave him wisdom and provision to buy the right tools and the pain tolerance to dig on his own hand. To me, it’s all about perspective. I CHOOSE to see God in ALL the goodness that comes my way…big or small.
The end of the verse in James mentions the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. That was puzzling to me so I did a little digging of my own. The best explanation I found was that James was using a celestial reference…speaking of God as the Father of lights, the One who created the sun, moon and stars. He created Earth, which is ever-changing, causing dimming, darkening or shadows, yet He Himself is unchanging. There is no variation in His character due to our changing circumstances. So, though we may experience darkness, He is FOREVER and ALWAYS light.