When God’s Word Meets a Changing World

God’s truth doesn’t expire with time

Beloved Friend,

If there’s one thing our times have taught us, it’s that change is constant. One year, the government changes a tax bill. The next, they roll out new accounting standards. In medicine, what used to be a “golden rule” gets updated. Today, even the legal system that once swore by certain precedents can change its mind tomorrow. Remember that old saying, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”? Well, as it turns out, an apple is great for your heart, but you’ll still need more than an apple. In other words, man’s wisdom keeps shifting. Yet even in those shifts, His Word stands unshaken. His character does not change. His principles don’t expire.

Jesus highlighted this when He was asked about divorce. Moses had permitted it because of the hardness of people’s hearts, but Jesus made it clear that from the beginning, that was not God’s design. In other words, it wasn’t Heaven that edited the standard, it was human weakness that demanded a concession. Today, when society tries to adjust God’s standards to suit desires, it’s not Heaven that’s shifting. It’s us. The more we bend, the more lawlessness we see.

Paul even warned Timothy that in the last days, people would no longer endure sound teaching, but would gather voices that tell them what they want to hear, bending truth to their own desires (2 Timothy 4:3–4). Isn’t that what we see today? Many are tempted to treat God’s Word as flexible, adapting it to culture instead of allowing it to shape culture.

Think of Daniel. He lived in Babylon, surrounded by a culture that had its own laws, food, and gods. Yet he and his friends refused to defile themselves with the king’s delicacies, because God’s Word on consecration hadn’t expired just because they were in a new land or under pressure; and God honored them for it.

Joseph, tempted in secret by Potiphar’s wife, he could have reasoned, “No one will know, and times are hard for me as a slave anyway.” Yet, he said, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9). His standard for purity wasn’t shaped by convenience or situation, it was anchored in God’s unchanging Word.

Even King Saul is an example of what happens when we think God’s commands can be adjusted. He spared what God said to destroy, claiming it was for sacrifice, and Samuel told him plainly: “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams”. In other words, God doesn’t applaud our edits; He looks for our obedience.

Now look at Jesus Himself. The enemy tempted Him with Scripture in the wilderness, twisting God’s Word to justify shortcuts. However, Jesus responded each time with “It is written.” He showed us that when everything around us seems shaky, the safest ground to stand on is still the Word; not trends, not convenience, not human wisdom.

Friend, the same is true today. People say “times have changed” to excuse dishonesty, greed, immorality, or unforgiveness. But Scripture says, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8). God’s laws were given for our good. His Word is not to make life harder but to shape us into His likeness and guard us from the chaos of lawlessness we see all around.

So let me remind you as you step into this week: hold fast to His Word. When it feels inconvenient, remember Daniel. When temptation whispers in secret, remember Joseph. When the world applauds compromise, remember Saul’s mistake. Above all, remember Christ, who chose obedience even unto death.

The Word is still alive. The Word is still true. The Word still stands. The Word still transforms.

With thoughts of kindness,

ABBA’s Shofar