Malachi 3:6 a “For I the Lord do not change;”

I have PTSD and thankfully I had a great therapist. Trauma is responsible for my trust issues.

Then in church one Sunday God answered my first prayer and introduced Himself as the sovereign God that does effect change. I became His child and He has loved me ever since in ways no human is capable of doing. However, He did not remove my trust issues.

What led me to trust God is the consistent behavior towards me that never waivered. Nothing builds trust in a relationship like consistency. Consistency was on His part, not mine. He knew that and treated me like a loving father should. Chastening without violence. He knows my heart and knows how to get to me to effect change.

Then I wondered how God could be there for me at exactly the right moment with the right treatment. How could God the Father be so consistent? My discovery of that answer will make some people uncomfortable and for that I am sorry. My hope is to  bring comfort, not trauma.

Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

God does not change what He has already accomplished. The eternal God who lives outside time has already done every right thing. God does not make mistakes, He is Holy, perfect in will and performance, and I trust Him and Him alone because of it.

Now I understand why God did not cure my trust issues. I live in the world of men.

That is not to say I cannot find trust with people. My wife has my trust, she has earned it. I trust my accountability partner, he has earned it. They both have been consistent, unwavering. Sure they are human and capable of mistakes and have human problems just like everyone else. How they treat me, love me, has been consistent, even if not perfect. Grace is extended to them because they are consistent.

Do the people I meet know this about me? No, of course not. They don’t need to know that. What they need to know about me will show up in how I treat them with consistency. My witness of this life with Jesus comes first and my interaction with strangers is based on my relationship with God, not man.

As my relationship with God improves, my interaction with mankind improves.

But I am human.

Malachi 3:1-15 English Standard Version

1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

13 “Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ 14 You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? 15 And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’”

I wanted a passage that indicates God does not change. I got more than I bargained for. I could extract only the passage I want but in doing so I would be inserting my will before God’s will.

Before we discuss my concerns read His Word and let His Word speak to you according to His will, not my one.

Maybe, God willing, we can talk about me tomorrow.