It is written: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" Heb.13:8. Constancy is one of the most reliable traits of God's character. Thanks to this principle we can build solid relationships with our Creator, count on certain behavior from His side, ask for something and believe in receiving. The Lord knows what we need, and constantly engages in providing all His creation with the most necessary, wanting unceasingly to give something greater and better.
The immutability of God's law protects us from confusion and unpredictability. Imagine what would happen if God's commandments periodically changed based on the Creator's mood? Such chaos would ensue that it's even difficult to imagine. But it's precisely the constancy of these principles and their immutability, despite time, that protects us from the power of sin and helps build relationships with God. And in relationships with us the Lord is unchanging in His unconditional love and desire to serve. He wants us to believe this, come to Him in our need and cleave to Him on a permanent basis. Although it's sad for Him to look at all our bustle and running in a hamster wheel, He respects what we choose and always offers us something more valuable and better — all of Himself and all of Heaven.
Knowing about God's constancy, I have in my consciousness a certain understanding that in this world there's something unchanging on which something solid can be built. And this solid thing won't disappear when I want to get it again.
Based on God's constancy, we discover and have all kinds of scientific laws and rules that never change. If, for example, we take mathematics, chemistry or physics, these are such precise sciences that it's even difficult to imagine some other rules and formulas. And they're unchanging in their constancy. And no mistake will become a law or rule, because there's no place for it in these sciences.
If we turn to history and politics, there's complete confusion. Winners write history as it's profitable for them, and politicians tell lies, and you don't know what to believe.
People who have certain constancy in themselves and live according to certain principles are considered reliable, and one can rely on them for something. Although we know that human nature is changeable, we still very much value reliable people, especially if these are our relatives or friends. With them one can organize something and plan something, knowing that they won't let you down.
A person with certain principles is considered a reliable partner with whom one can have predictable relationships, and this allows achievement of set goals and solving of certain tasks.
Looking into my heart and evaluating my life principles, I can see what I represent and honestly admit to myself how constant or reliable I am in this or that sphere of my life activity. It won't be difficult for me to see where I'm constant and where I'm stormy and don't have solid foundation. I'm inclined to have certain habits that fill my life with automatism when I don't particularly reflect. But there are such things that I plan. I make a decision to perform certain actions because it's necessary and correct. This concerns all spiritual values and everything that strengthens my health and brings happiness.
Love is the most solid foundation and the firmest principle, but I always stand before the choice to love or not when I meet various trials. Even when love became part of me and I live and think by it, my fleshly nature, which doesn't die, still strives to suggest another path and another solution to many questions.
Constant choice of God's path and life with God is struggle with the influence of evil and unceasing resistance to all kinds of temptations and trials. As long as I live in this world with God, I always need to swim against the current of this world and apply constant efforts to resist the mighty streams of evil. One need only stop this struggle for a moment and let go of the oars, and evil will invariably capture and whirl my boat and carry me to the waterfall of destruction to throw me onto the rocks of despair and disappointment and deprive me of connection with God.
I cannot pray much or long because I don't always understand how correctly and where to find time for this. But I can do this constantly. I would very much like to leave everything and pray from morning to evening, but there are certain affairs and duties from which no one releases me. And even if I take vacation from everything and still achieve my dream, most likely this will be a one-time experience of unceasing prayer, and then I'll have to return to ordinary life and do much of what only I can do. But my constancy in prayer teaches me to allocate certain hours in my schedule to communicate with God, and also to invite Him into all my plans, tasks and daily affairs. I invite God to be present at any of my communication with other people.
Such a prayer spirit develops in me the habit of being in constant connection with Heaven and dedicating all my plans to God.
If you dump the waters of the world ocean on a stone and quickly pour out all these streams, nothing will happen to the stone. It will stand firmly, not changing its form. But if you place this stone so that water constantly drips on it, then over time a hollow will form at this place, which will then deepen. There's even a saying that water wears away stone. This means the constancy of the water flow.
What do we call those who promise something and don't do it? Who give hope and then change their mind? Who say one thing and do another? We mark such people for ourselves as empty talkers. We don't want to trust them.
In any learning there's a principle of gaining knowledge, which consists of small lessons on a constant basis with increasing load and complexity of material.
Let's take any successful athlete as an example. He became successful not because he quickly overcame all loads and trained his muscles from morning to night, but thanks to constancy of training with gradual increase of load. No science is mastered at once. My one-time decision or action can change something in life, but won't make me different. However, constancy in making the same decisions and performing deeds will form certain skills and habits in me and teach me much.
Study on a constant basis makes me a specialist in the sphere I'm studying. And unceasing practice of acquired knowledge makes me a professional in this area.
We read in Col 4:2: "Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving." In prayer I announce to the spiritual world about my dedication of myself and my life to God. I ask the Lord for much. Knowledge of God's promises urges me to remind Him of what's promised and give what is rightfully mine. Constancy in such relationships makes me that channel and conductor of God's blessings that the Lord will actively use for His purposes and plans. Jesus also wants to see in me something solid and constant, though human, to unceasingly use me as His instrument. And my constancy in many questions contributes to the steady movement of God's work forward and toward victory.
Questions for Reflection
Please read Ps.17:3; 1Sam.2:2; Col.4:2; 1Pet.1:22; Rom.2:6-7; 12:12; 13:6; Eph.6:18; 1Tim.4:16; Acts.6:3-4; Mark.4:16-17; Luke.9:62 in light of this lesson. What other verses from the Bible came to your mind? What did you understand from this lesson? What is constancy? Why did the Lord choose stability and constancy for Himself? What in our world is inconstant? Do you like to deal with reliable people? How do they differ from unreliable ones? Is it important for us to have constancy in spiritual questions? What is fraught with flirting with the world and fascination with various winds of doctrines? Does constancy in something bring blessing to life? What will happen if I decide to master some spiritual science by external study, in a short time with maximum load? How is constancy manifested in love? Is such a thing possible? Is there constancy in your relationships? How does worldly constancy differ from spiritual? What is their similarity?