We serve a God who is eternal. That is, He has always existed, He existed before the creation of the universe and the world, and He will always exist. That is the focus of this lesson.

Something interesting about this is that He lives in eternity. We on the other hand live now in time. We think in terms of years and centuries and millennia. For God, all this is nothing, it is just the blink of an eye, because He lives outside of time in eternity. Look at what Psalm 90:1-4 says, “Lord, you have been our refuge from generation to generation. ² Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God. ³ You turn men back to dust, saying, “Return, O children of men.”⁴ A thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night.” (NIV) How awesome it is that our God is eternal. I like verse 4, for God a thousand years is nothing. For me this is a long time, but for Him it is nothing. Because God is eternal, we can trust that He is in control and that He knows not only what has already happened and what is happening now, but also what will happen in the future.

Another interesting verse is in John 8:56-59 Jesus said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.⁵⁷ You are not yet fifty years old,” said the Jews, “and have you seen Abraham? ⁵⁸ Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am! ⁵⁹ Then the Jews picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and left the temple.” (NIV) By saying this, Jesus was revealing that he was the true son of God because he was eternal as the son as well as the father. The Jews also understood this, knowing that he was saying he was God, and because they did not believe this, they were going to stone him, thinking that he was blaspheming. For us, it is a good thing that God is eternal. We were created by God, so we have not always existed, but like him, we have a spirit and soul that are eternal. In other words, we are already eternal beings, and we have an eternal God who will care for us forever. On the other hand, because there are only two eternal destinations, heaven and hell, it would be worthwhile to give your life to Christ today because, as John 14:6 says, he is the only way to get to heaven for eternity. How good it is that God is eternal.

Another good attribute of God is that he never changes. What he was, he is, and he will be. Look at what Malachi 3:6 says: “I, the Lord, do not change.” (NIV) And also look at what Hebrews 13:8 says: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” NIV

We can trust God because he will always remain good and loving and faithful and honest and all his other attributes, because God does not change. His word is the same; the word is always true, and like God, his word is eternal.

Because he remains the same, I can always approach him with faith and confidence, knowing that the God who helped me and saved me many years ago will help me and lift me up today, because he does not change. This is a strong rock for our faith and a difference between God and people. We as human beings change a lot, in our opinions, or appearance, or work, and sometimes we even change families, and today some even change gender. But God does not; he always remains the same and does not change, and that is why we can trust him. It is not always the same here; you cannot always trust the government or the company or your friends, but you can trust God because he does not change. What he is today, he will be the same in a thousand years.

I am grateful to God for these two attributes. How wonderful that our God is eternal and never changes. He is a very good God, and so it is time to draw closer to him and seek him more. Without a doubt, God can help you today in your need and situation.