The well-known hymn by T.O. Chisholm begins as follows:
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God, My Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee,
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not.
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.
The Lord our God is the Unchangeable One in whom not even a shadow of turning is found. James 1:17 confirms this: “Every good and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” He does not change and yet requires the process of change to take place in us that we become conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. Our confidence is in His changelessness, faithfulness, long-suffering and grace that even as He requires the change in us, He has also equipped us for the transition with the Indwelling Christ. He has made the provision, it is up to me to walk in it:- I take, He undertakes! He is the great Undertaker!
There is no shadow in the fullness of His Presence. “In His light we see light,” – further revelation. When we are settled that “there is no shadow of turning” with God, confidence in Him enables us to trust without a shadow of a doubt.
We are always evolving by the creative power of the Spirit of God in our walk of faith, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” God requires of us to be pushed out of our comfort zone, producing a challenge and an increase in our faith. Where is faith operating in my life?
Matthew 14:26-33 records the account of Peter getting out of the boat to walk on water to meet Jesus. Peter had to “jump ship” in faith. The boat was his comfort zone and security but the Lord called Him out. The other disciples rested in the boat in God’s sovereignty, but when the call of God comes to get out of the boat, the kiss of sovereignty ties up with human responsibility and we need to obey and “get out of the boat” in faith, which triggers the creative work of God. Then the Indwelling Christ, the Risen Christ will manifest “IN DEED” and not just in thought and word, but in action through us.
An ordinary life becomes a vessel of purpose, for His glory, tuned with “all creation groaning for the manifestation of His sons” as the Spirit and the Bride say, “Come, Lord Jesus.”
My confidence in the Unchangeable One is my security. I have to step out in faith to take on board the change He requires in me.
WHAT GOD DEMANDS, HE PROVIDES.
I am totally equipped for the work of change by the Indwelling Christ – but I must yield to Him and allow Him to make the changes. God is moving us pressing us “out of measure” and “into His fullness.” He is so faithful, even when we doubt, because of His great love for us He encourages us, He does not drag us along. He demonstrates His long-suffering and reveals that for everything I lack, the great “I AM” is that to me. He is never phased by my lack because His fullness operates in my emptiness, thus His glory is safe. He does the work, thus the credit is all His. “Thine is the Kingdom, Thine is the power, Thine is the glory.”
The substitutional death of Jesus Christ on Calvary’s cross for the sin of mankind is the rock solid foundation of our salvation and redemption, but it is the Risen Christ who has dealt with death and hell, that is alive in my heart. He is risen and ascended in me!….and this same Christ in me also likes me to do the things my Heavenly Father wants me to do. Jesus said, “I only do the things my Father tells me to do.” Jesus, our Pattern Man, has shown us the way. The tomb of Jesus Christ became the womb of creation for every “born-again” child of God. The Indwelling Christ is groaning in birth pangs within us to manifest the power of that resurrected life to replace my old one with all it’s Adamic nature.
Remember: UNTIL YOU MEET THE IMPOSSIBLE YOU DO NOT TOUCH THE RESOURCES OF GOD.
The key is the “proceeding word” of God. When God says “Go,” that is the time to move in faith. I must recognise that God is my security and not “the boat.” When He says it is time to “Jump ship” and “walk on water,” it is time to move which will bring about the changes He requires in me and my life for the growth in me. Growth is change.
The Cross dealt with sin but we are travelling forward in resurrected life. The boat was Peter’s security but he had to leave it and get out. The Cross is my security for forgiveness but I have to move forward and enter Jesus’ resurrected life, growing up into Him in all things. God does not change, but He does require change in me. Please God, may I move on from where I am, being built up in Christ and changed “from glory to glory!”
Many people want things to be different in their lives but carry on doing the same things in the same old way, but praying for a different result. This can be likened to a chef using an apple pie recipe but praying for a steak pie result!
The long-suffering of God bears with a man until, in his desperation, the man realises that the pain of remaining the same is greater than his anticipation of the pain of change, and he humbles, lets go, and cries out to God for help to change.
We all want our circumstances to change, but God demands that I change, and my life become a temple of worship and praise to Him. The change I need in my life is the Gethsemane experience. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus laid His life down and chose the Father’s will above His own – “Nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done.” This choice of Jesus triggered the workings of God in His life enabling Him to go to the Cross. Scripture encourages us to “work out our own salvation.” God puts His life in us but we have to work it out. We cannot do it without humbling internally where He pin-points. As we humble and choose His will, instead of ours, the choice triggers the workings of God and the life of Christ comes to ascendancy in us. God works in “to will and to do of His good pleasure” – and then His good pleasure becomes my good pleasure! You cannot do the will of God miserably!
A changed man/woman walks in humility bearing the hallmarks of joy and peace, and a righteousness not of themselves, but of God. They do not exalt themselves, they have no judgement of others. This life of Christ in men is attractive, simple in it’s purity. It draws people to them but the breath of Heaven in their lives points and directs people to the Cross. It is there that all shadows and darkness are turned to light, and in that light salvation is found, the gift of God in whom there is “no shadow of turning.”
