As you know, in the Prayer for Prodigals ministry we’ve been focusing on knowing God as the One who interferes, creating “but God” outcomes. Our latest focus is on the stable, eternal, permanent, irrefutable, infallible, immutable, unchangeable, undefeatable, dependable Word of God. Whatever He says will always be true. We can count on it!

In the Hebrews passage that talks of God’s immutability, we find incredible truth:

“For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself,  Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the ​immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast”​ (Hebrews 6:13, 17-19).

The “two immutable things” by which God confirmed the oath are God Himself and His Word, “because He could swear by no one greater.” That phrase moves me. There simply is no one greater. We can stand firmly on God’s Word, hope in it, have faith in it, believe whole-heartedly in it, claim and declare it, even when it seems all hope is lost!

Promises

God’s Word always stands. His promises always stand:

• First Peter 3:9, which is the Prayer for Prodigals ministry’s theme verse, says, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
• Like Abraham, we can be “fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform” (Romans 4:21).
• Why? Because “‘God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?’” (Numbers 23:19).
• “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us” (2 Corinthians 1:20).
• “Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass” (Joshua 21:45), and not one word from the Lord has failed to happen to us and our prodigals. Not. One. Word.

Thank You, Lord! Bless Your holy name!

So, when the Word says, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11), we can count on the Word doing what God intended it to do. When He placed our prodigals in our homes and families and churches so they would learn the Word, He knew what of His Word they would need right now in their lives. Paul told Timothy “that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:15). The same is true for our prodigals. They know at least part of the Word, and those parts will do what God intends for those parts to accomplish. After all, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, emphasis added), and “When the Bible says all, that means there ain’t no more” (J.R. Henderson, my pawpaw). It may seem like it will never happen or that it is taking such a long time, but God is longsuffering with us and with them. We wait from our front row seat and watch the promises come true.

Truth

We already know from John 1:1 that Jesus is the Word, the immutable Word, and in speaking to Thomas, Jesus revealed Himself as truth (John 14:6). The Old Testament tells us “His truth endures to all generations” (Psalm 100:5). It never ends, runs out of strength or power, nor changes. It endures.

  Truth/He overcomes every lie of the enemy. Even when Satan presents counterfeits to our prodigals, the truth is more powerful! It is a mighty weapon against the enemy and his schemes. It “is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Let’s see a physical sword do that!

“As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him” (Psalm 18:30). When we take Him at His Word, whether it seems possible to us or not, we are shielded! In fact, this is reiterated in Proverbs 30:5: “Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.”

He not only is truth, but He has the truth, created truth, and always speaks the truth. Truth is good, for our good, and established because of His great love for us and our prodigals. Whatever He says will always be true. We can count on it!

Conclusion

We’ve been given the truth, the Word. This is an open-book test. Did you have that teacher who handed out a study guide for an upcoming test but tested on other material instead? The Word is not like that teacher. He never changes His mind. God is immutable, never-changing, and that includes His mind. So, we read the Word, study the Word, memorize the truth, and go to the Source of truth so we can be free (John 8:32). We daily gird our waists with truth (Ephesians 6:14) so we can “stand against the wiles of the devil” (v. 11), knowing all other pieces of protection need truth to which to connect.

God’s Word is, after all, stable, eternal, permanent, irrefutable, infallible, immutable, unchangeable, undefeatable, living, powerful, longsuffering, truth, good, prosperous, inspired, profitable, proven, mighty, and sharp! We can depend on God’s Word!