‘God Will Never Give Up On You’

“For I am the LORD, I change not”  

(Malachi 3:6)

“For He is like a refiner’s fire. an like launderers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness.” (Malachi 3:2-3)

“He is a refiner’s fire”, and that makes all the difference.

A refiner’s fire does not destroy indiscriminately like a forest fire. A refiner’s fire does not consume completely like the fire of an incinerator. A refiner’s fire refines. A refiner’s fire purifies. A refiner’s fire melts down the bar of silver or gold, and separates out the impurities that ruin its value, burns them up, and leaves the silver and gold intact. He is like a refiner’s fire.

When I look at this passage it does say FIRE. And because it is fire we know there will follow purity and holiness, and we can be assured that there will be “fear and trembling” in this process of becoming pure.

I am in day two of my 2nd cycle of my chemotherapy treatments today, and I can tell you that my body has gone through some radical changes since two days ago and with the beginning of every treatment, I have to go through what they call a 3 hour drip of a powerful chemotherapy solution given intravenously. In short, it is a high concentrate of the 8 pills I also have to take every day.

Last months cycle, I had some side effects from this drip.  They lingered for about 2-3 days.  After that, my body appeared to acclimate to the daily pills routine. Right now, as I said it is day two of the drip. Side effects for this is tingling in fingers, on lips, and a narrowing of the throat passage, and nausea.  Because of the side effect of the narrowing of my throat passage it makes it difficult to swallow these pills. (4 at a time twice a day)

Last night, it was tough to get to sleep, and stay asleep due to nausea beginning around three a.m..   Why am I telling you all this?  Hopefully that you will include me in your prayers, and be thankful to God that whatever and whenever we change, in our attitudes, in our promises towards each other, thank God that He never changes. Though my feelings may change from day to day, our to hour, Hebrews 13:8 says that Jesus never changes, He’s right in on where I’m at and what’s happening to me.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today and forever”   (Hebrews 13:8)

Jesus is the center of my faith, and I must rely on His dependability to meet my every need.  This means that whenever I’m sick, not doing well, my perspective may change at least momentarily, but God’s eye toward me and purpose in this has not changed.  He is lovingly accountable for me in this.

I have to be honest that questions do arise in my mind like:  ‘Why doesn’t God just heal me?”  While I desire to see immediate changes in and around my life, I am not looking at the big picture, I find myself dragging my feet in the present, and that keeps me from trusting God in something I’m just to busy waddling in the present.

The Bible does teaches that everything in my life past, present and future are ‘all things are working together for good” (Romans 8:28) And this includes the things I don’t like when I just want to change right now!  Especially in taking these medicines for the treatments.

I ask God to help me see it His way, that these pills, drips, are all part of a perfect plan, as imperfect as they might seem for me right now.  Since Jesus is my King, I submit to His way. Since He is my Lord, I take up this cross, daily and follow Him, believing and trusting, that His thoughts for me haven’t changed for me because of this condition for now. I remind myself continually that : “I am the Lord, I change not”  ‘I am the same yesterday, and today and forever”

Change is good and sometimes necessary. But, though we may change, though circumstances may change, Jesus does not change.  He is always there for us, always dependable, always concerned for and about us.It means you can always count on Jesus being there in this life….even when it doesn’t seem like He is. He doesn’t change.

In other words, you can always depend upon His Character to never change. His love for you will never decrease because He is committed to you, at all times, in all things. “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

Circumstances may change, people change, and yes, you may change, but  Jesus never changes. “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it”? (Numbers 23:19)