Dealing with change

It’s been said that the only constant is change. Wherever you're at, whether you're graduating and going into the big, wide world of work, or if you're just about to start your first year of uni, things are always changing. Hopefully the easing of restrictions will continue and things will look more normal after the summer – which is in itself a big change. You may be moving to a new city, making new friends, starting a new adventure. All this change can be quite intimidating.

But, as Christians, the Bible offers us something that will never change. Hope. This isn't a fleeting hope that changes with the seasons, or our stage of life, this is an eternal hope.

Our eternal hope

1 Peter 1:3-5 says:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

God, our unchanging, eternal God, has given us new birth into a living hope through Jesus' resurrection. This hope is the same for all Christians, from the youngest to the oldest, freshers to CEOs. We have been brought by God into an inheritance that, as verse 4 says, can never perish, spoil or fade.

Our present reality

Carrying on in the passage, I love how Peter acknowledges that things won't always be easy. Verses 6-7 say:

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Life isn’t always easy. But these trials, as Peter puts it, actually serve us. They refine us, proving our faith's genuineness, and, ultimately, bringing praise, glory and honour to Jesus.

'Sometimes everything won't just fall into place, we still live in a broken world. But remember the hope that will never change…'

It may be that you're anxious about the future. And you certainly are not alone if that's the case. It may be that you're graduating, or it may be that you're worried whether the next year is going to involve just as much time on Zoom, or you're worried about results. The temptation is to say 'it'll be alright', 'it'll all work out', or 'God's got a plan'. The problem with that is that, as Peter says, everything won't just fall into place, we still live in a broken world. But remember the hope that will never change, remember the inheritance we have that can never perish, spoil or fade. Remember that, in Jesus, your salvation is secure. That is God’s plan for you.

It's all about Jesus

Remember it's all about Jesus. In verses 8 and 9, Peter encourages us:

Though you have not seen him (Jesus), you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Even though there are hard times in life, we are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy because we love Jesus and, in believing in Him, we are 'receiving the end result of [our] faith, the salvation of [our] souls.'

My prayer is that you would experience this joy whatever is next for you. Everything is always changing but Jesus never changes. Our hope never fades, our inheritance never fades, in Jesus our salvation is secure. You're never more saved than you are right now if you believe and trust in Jesus.