Read: Psalm 102:12-28
But you are the same, and your years have no end. (v. 27)
As a teacher, I was never a fan of the yearly school picture for the yearbook. Oh, the early years were okay—let’s say, before I turned 40. After that, each picture reminded me that I was aging; same pose, same background—but a little more gray and saggy. Placed side by side, my school pictures would look like a time-lapse sequence of the ever-aging Mrs. Sweet!
Our aging process is unrelenting, but our God is changeless throughout eternity. That’s a good thing for us, said the writer of Psalm 102, because God’s love for us is also enduring and unchanging. “He regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer” (v. 17). This psalm is titled “A Prayer of one afflicted”: it is clear the psalmist was struggling with many burdens. There was concern for his nation, and concern for himself—but there was also faith that God would look down from heaven and have pity on his people. This faith was rooted in the understanding that, unlike the heavens and the earth, God didn’t change. The same now and forever, he would not forget his people. There was also hope for the next generation: “The children of your servants shall dwell secure” (v. 28).
God never changes, and his love for his people never changes. When we feel like the “one afflicted,” we need to remember his unchanging faithfulness to his own. —Laura N. Sweet
As you pray, remember God’s unchanging love for you in all circumstances.
About the Author
Laura N. Sweet is a wife, mother, grandmother, and former Christian schoolteacher from Midland, Michigan. She writes devotional material for both adults and children, and her work has appeared in more than a dozen publications.
