Fixed in the Heavens

“Forever, O Lord, your word
    is firmly fixed in the heavens.
Your faithfulness endures to all generations…

Long have I known from your testimonies
    that you have founded them forever.” Psalm 119:89-90a,152

“The grass withers, the flower fades,
    but the word of our God will stand forever.” Isaiah 40:8 

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Luke 21:33

“’All flesh is like grass
    and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
    and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord remains forever.’

And this word is the good news that was preached to you.” 1 Peter 1:24-25

Within an hour, the morning sky morphs from thick and dark, split with weeping rain, to broken open blue and bright with fast moving puff clouds. Within minutes more, it is a thick rough grey again, ominous and weeping. It constantly changes, its brightness in daily cycles, its hues and patterns by moments, sprinkles, gusts, and temperature changes. Yet behind and above and beyond in the unseen is the unchanging, sure Word, firmly fixed, established, standing fast and ruling forever.

I can count on His Word. Whether I look up or my eyes are cast down, God’s Word is fixed as a sentry, its truth an unshakable foundation, its purposes ruling all providence and never thwarted. Winds blow and the skies may change, but His Word is fixed in the heavenlies sure and steadfast. Cultures shift, opinions morph, expertise that is gospel one moment is anathema another, but God’s Word is unchanging and true and absolutely trustworthy. (Job 42:2; Psalm 33:11; Isaiah 14:24,27)

Do I know it? Am I daily studying and learning it? When I hear its instruction am I willfully, courageously putting it into practice? Am I hiding it in my heart to keep me from sin, and to prepare me with answers? Where has it convicted, corrected, or redirected me? Is it my own sword and lamp? (Psalm 119:11,105; Isaiah 50:4; Ephesians 6:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Peter 3:15)

When I set aside time for study, would I pray that the Lord will anoint and bless my concentration on the Word, and enlighten me to its treasures, assurances, promises, and power? In the whirl and storms of ever-changing times and tumult, what steps will I take today to make God’s Word my own? (Ephesians 1:17-19)

“How firm a foundation, you saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in his excellent Word!
What more can he say than to you he has said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes.
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!” ~George Keith (1787)

Holy God, fix my heart and mind on Your Word that stands forever. Open my eyes to see wonderful things in it, and to know You better by it. Cause it to fill and direct my thoughts, control the impulses of my loves, and permeate all I say and do, that You be both magnified and glorified. (Psalm 119:18)