For I am the Lord, I do not change. Malachi 3:6

During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Lt. Carey H. Cash was chaplain to a battalion of frontline combat Marines. In his memoir, “A Table in the Presence,” he spoke of praying with his troops. 

            “Our prayers were simple,” he wrote, “but they were exactly what we all needed. We prayed for 

            protection, for courage, for victory, for faith in difficult moments, for the assurance that we were 

            not alone, for help in making tough decisions, for grace to endure, and for strength to 

            overcome…. We relied on the power of the Psalms, the will of God, the teachings of Jesus, and 

            the promises of eternal life. We clung to hope, trusted in God’s love, and believed in a divine 

            purpose and plan behind it all.”

Like those Marines, we must trust in God’s love and in the divine purpose He has for all our days.

God’s love for us is unchanging and not dependent on our actions. How encouraging to know that God’s love for us remains the same, even when we make a mistake or a wrong decision—for He never does. We can trust Him during life’s battles.

As we face this new year, for some, it may be looming large with uncertainties or possible changes coming down the road. For some, it’s full of excitement as you anticipate the wonderful possibilities of plans that are falling into place.  For others, you may have no clue what this year may hold, and therefore, the unknown may be daunting. 

As the chaplain wrote: We need to cling to hope, trust in God’s love, and believe in a divine purpose and plan behind it all.

What we need to come back to is that God does not change. He has each of us in His mighty hands…and He loves us!

“God never once, even amidst the chaos of war, stopped pursuing our own hearts.” – Chaplain Lt. Casey H. Cash