It is that time of year again when the clock strikes midnight, and everything is meant to change. Even if we are honest with ourselves, we know that nothing changes, bar those awkward few moments that follow at the beginning of January when we sign the wrong date – several times – does anything change?
The change of the year seems to give us some excuse to think that things will somehow be radically different, even though as we seep into the new year, we are only 24 hours from the last year and all the issues that came with it. Yet, even now, some of us might be thinking, planning, praying or determining that next year will be different. We will run a marathon, join a gym, start exercising, read more books, learn another language, spend more time with family, spend more time with friends, and spend more time alone! On and off the list might go of things she wants to do and things that we think we should do, and then in a few days, things we end up not doing.
The Pressure we put on ourselves
Some of the most popular resolutions, according to recent research of 2024:
- Save more money
- Exercise more
- Eat Healthier
- loos weigh
- use social media less
- Do better at work! (Maybe it should be mine?)1
We all make them, even if we don’t, or tell friends about what we will do this year – in our head, there will be something we think: This year I am going to…… According to a Forbes article, 80% of us feel we can achieve our goals.2 Yet, by February, for most people who have made them and made some effort to begin them – they will soon be forgotten, and the only thing that will be left of them is our annoyance that we even thought we could do it in the first place!
After the busyness of Christmas, and all the pressure that comes in our culture around that time and place, and then those few days afterwards where we crash into the sofa, heavy with turkey and ham, and wondering how we are going to eat all that is left over, over the next few days. Even in those few days, it is hard to think of the year ahead and all that it might entail, known and unknown. It can be pretty heavy to think about what the year ahead might bring, never mind starting to think about the changes we should make regarding our lives and living. The reality now is that thoughts of the new year and new season cause people as much stress and anxiety as it might excite others about new opportunities. Then, if the stress of New Year’s Resolutions is not hard enough, we begin to think of the bigger picture: the state of the world.
The World We Live in
During the week, I listened to one Christian cultural commentator talking about the trends that will define the year ahead and the significant things that will dominate our thinking and news cycles in 2024. He made an interesting observation regarding the season the world seems to be in; looking back to 2015 – 2023, he described the age as one of anxiety. People were deeply anxious, anxious about everything: from elections going wrong to surprising referendum results to bad presidents getting elected, climate change, cost of living crises, wars and pandemics. A shared sense of anxiety about life and the state of the world marked those eight years. 2024 begins at an age that will not be defined by anxiousness, stress or strain about the state of the world and the direction of culture; rather, the dominant emotion of Western culture will be “anger.” What made us anxious now seems to make us angry as we protest about the climate, politics, wars, and all that is going wrong with the world (rather than perhaps doing something about it.).
A foundation for every season – God (Exodus 3:14-15)
As we move into the new year, it can be challenging even to begin to think Christianly about it, with the pressure we might put on ourselves to do something because we believe we are meant to be making big resolutions. Then, to the pressure we feel from the broader culture and state of the world to be angry about something. Our faith seems to seep slowly and quietly into whatever compartment we have for it, if it is even something we consider. Never mind the thought of what it might mean to live it out in the year ahead, or to love more boldly for Christ, more dependant on the Holy Spirit and more conscious of what God requires from us in response to his Grace that what the world expects of us to begin to take note offs. Any thought of our faith, or what it means to live it out, will soon fade from our mind. Yet, every day, week, month, and the wonder of God and what he has done for us must be the certainty of our life, life and eternity. It is not enough that we might think about how our faith might impact something of the year ahead; instead, our knowledge of God, His Character and power should shape everything about how we see the season to come and seek to live in it. We should be those who know although the year might be new God is the same – and that is the most beautiful thing to learn and build our lives on. The year might change, and the situations we find ourselves in during the seasons of life will change from bad to good and pleasing to bad – yet in all and through all, God remains the same – good in every way, and that should be what gives us peace in the age of anxiety and joy in an age of anger.
Think of how the Lord reveals himself in the Scriptures to Moses:
“God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM., This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” God also told Moses, “Say this to the Israelites: The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever; this is how I will be remembered in every generation” Christian Standard Bible. Ex 3:14–15.
In the Old Testament, a revealed name was important because it says something about who you are, your character, and your personhood. That is why it is always such a big occasion when God gives someone a new name. Abram to Abraham, Jacob to Isreal, Sarai to Sarah – each moment begins with something God is doing and a change in the person named. Thus, when Moses asks the Lord whom he should say who has sent him, God responds by saying I AM WHO I AM (YAHWEH). God is not being sarcastic by giving Moses some abstract identity; it is not some Ulster wit: Who Are You? “I am who I am, MATE,” nor is it some abstract philosophical statement that says something without saying anything. Instead, choosing to reveal himself as I AM WHO I AM, the God of the Bible, is telling something about his character and nature. God is saying to Moses that he is not definable by a name related to a specific region or purpose because Yahweh was not created but creator. The English “I AM” is derived from the Hebrew that means “to be or to exist.” Thus, when Moses asks God who he should say sent him, The Lord responds by saying something along the lines of the exists and has always existed has sent you. In one sentence, the God of the universe is making clear to you, me, and all who will read these words that he is entirely self-siffucant, independent, and beyond our comprehension or creation. Furthermore, God is saying eternal, self-directing, compelling and eternally unchanging.
Yahweh is the unchanging one, not in that he could change and chooses not to – not it is far more beautiful, profound and hopeful. Yahweh is the unchanging one because He is good, complete, and perfect in every way – there is nothing that needs to be changed and nothing that any external force could change because all things are from him, and all things are through him. He was before all things, and all things were held tighter by him. The Scriptures speak of Jesus, and in speaking of the character and nature of Jesus, they reveal God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is why the writer of the letter to the Hebrews writes: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (13:8). It is why the religious leaders of his day were so disgusted when Jesus answered them: “Truly Truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:58-59). Jesus knew exactly what he was doing – taking upon himself the eternality and perfection of God because he is God.
Yahweh is the unchanged and unchanging God who is perfect in every way and through the redemptive work of Christ on the Cross and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in those who turn to him. And because he is perfect and only good, we know that the change he brings into our lives can only be good. As the verses from Exodus go on, God reveals to Moses that he is the God of his ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The all-powerful one who began a work then is still the all-powerful and loving God who is at work now, and that is who he will always be – “This is my name forever; this is how I will be remembered in every generation.” Is that not the most beautiful truth to hear? The most remarkable thing on which to build our lives? When we sing of Christ the solid rock, this is how reliable we understand him to be! Perfect and unchanging in every way, he is only good. Yahweh – I AM WHO I AM – is only good and perfect and has been the same since he created the world, revealed himself to Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, Led his people out of slavery and into the promised land, watched over them and stuck with them even as they turned their backs on Him in pursuit of other Gods. He was the same eternally unchanged and good God when he took on human flesh in the manger and upon the Cross when the world’s sin could do nothing to afflict, affect, or change him. This enterally unchanged, perfect and unchanging nature meant Christ could take upon himself the weight of our sin and give grace to all who respond to him by faith.
Changing World: Perfect God
This is lovely theology, a wonderful truth about the beauty of God’s nature and good character. Yet, you might be thinking – so what? I know God is good, without fault and never changes; I know he is all-powerful. Additionally, I believe it! So why are you going on and on about this? Because the question is not simply about belief but praxis and life. We might believe in God’s unchanging nature, sufficiency and goodness, but do we live in and out of it? If God is the same God he was at the beginning of the Cosmos and will be forever in every generation until he comes again, as he was at the Exodus, Cross and Ascension, that means he is the same today in our lives and world, and with all who live by faith. Even more beautifully, this perfect, Good, unchanging God not only lives with us and saves us by the Cross of Christ but also dwells within us because we are his Temple. In a changing world, the changeless God works in and through us!
The question is, do we live on the foundation of this truth, confident in God and in his call to be active in the world for His cause and to build His Kingdom? In a changing world, a reminder of the unchanging nature of God is not just about remembering beautiful theology; it’s about placing the foundation of our salvation and living – a perfect and solid foundation. As the world changes, we are secure in our salvation and confident in our call to live for the Glory of God through the work of Christ, by way of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit because we know the goodness and perfection of God. In a changing world, we can live confidently and joyfully for Him because he will never change, forsake us or wrong-foot us. Christ is our example to live by and our confidence to life. Thus, the question and challenge is, does this profound truth impact our life or even our thinking? Because it should
Conclusion: A New Year in which we Rejoice because God is the same
As we sit on the eve of a new year, wondering what the future might bring, we know that we need not wonder about the God who holds it and us. As we ponder what resolutions we might make or what changes we need to make, let me posit a challenge and a question. What if the only thing that needs to change in the coming year is how we live freely in response to the truth of the goodness of God (revealed on the Cross) and his perfect, unchanging nature (informed throughout history)? It might be a new year, but we should be a people who rejoice that it is the same God we worship through Jesus Christ, who is the same Yesterday, today and forever.
So, with the help of the Holy Spirit, perhaps we make it our desire for this year to be marked by a renewed love of God and living for God because we are confident in our salvation and Him. Perhaps God will give us the Grace to celebrate this year with prayer and love of Him and one another. A year that a kindly fire will keep for his cause, a renewed desire for His Word, and the power of the Holy Spirit to build His Kingdom. This New Year’s Eve, let us pray for the year to come to Know God more and, by our knowledge, to live more confidently for him. Then, as the world knows anger, we can know God and bring joy by:
- Living Confidently: Building our lives on the unchanging nature of God gives us a confident foundation to build on and the boldness to live out for his cause and Kingdom.
- Praying Hopefully: not only living for God but seeking to live with God through prayer, seeking his direction for our lives and call as individuals and a church family, and for this church and city through prayer because we know he is good, perfect and unchanging – and so we are praying to a God who hears, is good, loves his children, and acts.
- Renewing the Mind: Because we know God is good and we want to know more of his Goodness, by the Spirit, let us be moved to engage with his word in a new way and with confidence that it is the living word in which God is revealed and through which God will work in each of us, and a church family.
- Worship boldly: Our confidence in him should lead us to seek more of Him in Prayer and Word, but also to make more of him know how we live and how we respond to his perfect Goodness in thanksgiving and praise – our worship. On the solid rock of Christ’s ideal goodness and work, may our Worship of God be bolder and more explicit in a desperate and searching world.
Then we can join with the beauty of Psalm 30:4 – “ Sing to the LORD, you, his faithful ones, and praise his holy name.“ In this new year, may we rejoice in the beautiful truth that God is the same and making knowing him and making him know not just our foundation for living, our resolution of the year to come – but our purpose for existing until he comes again.
Atr Irwin 