February 27

Morning

Because you have made the LORD your dwelling—my refuge, the Most High— — Ps 91:9 BSB

The Israelites in the wilderness were constantly subject to change. Whenever the cloud stopped, they set up their tents; but tomorrow, before the sun had risen, the trumpet would sound, the ark would move, and the fiery cloud would lead them through the mountain paths, up hillsides, or across the dry wastelands. They barely had time to rest before the call came, “Move on! This is not your rest; you must continue your journey toward Canaan!” They never stayed long in one place. Even the comfort of wells and palm trees couldn’t hold them. Yet they had a constant home in their God—His cloud was their covering by day, and the flame was their fire by night. They kept moving, never settling, never saying, “Now we are safe, here we will stay.” As Moses said, “Though we are always moving, Lord, you have been our dwelling place for generations.”

For the Christian, there is no change with God. Today we may be rich, tomorrow poor; today healthy, tomorrow sick; today joyful, tomorrow sorrowful—but in our relationship with God, nothing changes. If He loved us yesterday, He loves us today. Our everlasting home is in the Lord. Let everything else be destroyed—let joy wither, let all prospects fade—nothing is lost if we still have God. He is “our strong habitation to which we can always come.” We are pilgrims in this world but at home with God. In the world, we wander—but in God, we dwell in peace.

Evening

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity. — Mic 5:2 BSB

The Lord Jesus has always gone ahead of His people, acting as their representative before the throne of God, even before they existed. It was “from everlasting” that He agreed with the Father to pay the price for His people—blood for blood, suffering for suffering, agony for agony, and death for death. From eternity, He committed Himself to endure the shame and suffering without complaint, from the crown of His head to the soles of His feet, shedding great drops of blood, being mocked, pierced, and crushed. His role as our substitute began before time itself.

Pause and marvel, my soul! Jesus was working on your behalf from eternity. Before you were born, He loved you. His delight was with the sons of men long before they even existed. He set His love on you before time began. If He has gone to such lengths for your salvation, will He fail now? Has He carried you this far only to let you go? Did He choose you before the foundations of the world, only to reject you now? Impossible!

He wouldn’t have loved you so long if He were capable of growing weary. If He could have tired of you, it would have happened long ago. His love is as deep as hell and as strong as death, and He will never turn away. Oh, joy above all joys, to know that I am His, an everlasting and unchanging treasure, given to Him by the Father before the world began! Let this everlasting love be my comfort tonight.