Even when our circumstances are discouraging or uncertain, we can have hope because our God never changes and will forever be our stronghold. Disney writes some of the best songs. Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been listening to the “Frozen 2” soundtrack. The first “Frozen” was way better, but the sequel does have a few home runs in the music department. One of my go-tos is Anna’s musical assurance to Olaf at the beginning of the movie:

Of course, we know (and the movie goes on to demonstrate) that many things change. Circumstances, people, headlines, expectations. But Olaf, Elsa, Anna and Kristoff are right: Some things never change.

“I the LORD do not change,” God testifies in the book of Malachi. Even when our circumstances are discouraging or uncertain, we can have hope because what has been true of our God in the past will be just as true in the future. No matter what we’re up against, we can stand on the following truths that will never change.

God is love.

This one always blows my mind. The Bible doesn’t just describe God as loving, but as love itself. He defines what love is. What more vibrant picture could we have of just how much He loves us? As Puritan theologian John Owen said, “The greatest sorrow and burden you can lay on the Father, the greatest unkindness you can do to him is not to believe that he loves you.” One of my favorite hymns, “The Love of God,” describes the unimaginable vastness of God’s love like this:

“Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.”

If we truly grasped how much God loves us, our fears of the future would be drastically weakened.

God is kind.

At first glance, this may seem like a repeat of the first point. After all, if God loves us, He will be kind to us, right? In some ways, there could be overlap — which only serves to underscore the depth of the love of God. But I think the kindness of God merits mentioning on its own. Because God is kind, He gives us more than we need or deserve. He does more than simply provide for our deepest needs: He truly gives us a “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over…”

A few days ago, I finished reading “The Nature of Small Birds.” “God is so kind,” one character testified to the others. “And he’s always up to something.” Which is a great lead-in to the next point…

God is sovereign.

Whatever predicaments we find ourselves in this year, our God will work for our good in the midst of them. No human plan or political decision, no uncontrollable weather phenomena, no illness, no anything will be able to derail His plan for us.

God sees every heart.

It might be that most of your life is going well — except for one desire or disappointment you carry deep inside. Maybe the people around you seem to assume everything is sunshine and rainbows in your life, and if you haven’t told them otherwise, they have no way of knowing what hurts you’re holding onto. But our God knows each one of us — our desires, disappointments, unspoken needs. King David wrote that God keeps track of our tossings and stores up all our tears. He knows what we need and what we long for, even if no one else does. He is the God who sees us, and He cares.

God is wise.

he apostle Paul wrote that we can’t even mine the depth of God’s wisdom. No matter how far we dig, we’ll never reach the end of it. How exciting to realize that not only is He able to work out the best for me, not only does He lovingly want to, but He actually knows what is best. He knows.

God is with us.

One of my most favorite names for Christ is Immanuel: “God with us.” There really is no way to fully fathom the amazing-ness of this truth. No matter what awaits us in the next 12 months or beyond, our God is with us. We can go anywhere with that truth in our pocket.

Hope for a new year

In a nod to another children’s favorite (though arguably much more of a classic than “Frozen 2”), a quote from C.S. Lewis’ “Prince Caspian” is perfect for this time of year:

“Aslan,” said Lucy, “you’re bigger.”

“That is because you are older, little one,” answered he.

“Not because you are?”

“I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”

Whatever challenges or changes await us this year, our God will forever be our stronghold, our hope. Like a stone wall that will never fall.

Copyright 2022 Lauren Dunn. All rights reserved.