Life Changes. God Doesn’t.

What happened in my life that made me able to say “Life changes. God doesn’t.” and actually mean it—not just because it sounds good?

Well, for starters, because it’s true.

But why do I really believe that? And have I always lived like I believe it?

If you know me, you probably know that I tend to believe people have good intentions. I believe people will do what they say they’re going to do. Call it naive or whatever you want. I’ll believe it—until they don’t.

Then I get hurt. I get mad. I question everything. I work on forgiveness, put them at arm’s length, justify the wrong, move forward…and eventually I’ll probably do it all over again.

BUT God…

I have believed Him, trusted Him, questioned Him, disobeyed Him and even turned my back on Him.

And He has still pursued me.

Loved me.

Taught me.

Guided me.

He has shown me shalom. He has never left me.

Have I always liked His decisions or His plans for my life?

Nope.

Do I always understand them?

Sometimes—but pretty much never. lol.

And yet, when I look back, I can see that in my surrender to Him, His plans have been what I needed.

Life Really Does Change

There have been seasons when it felt like everything changed at once.

My oldest son was life-flighted twice. I walked away from a ministry job after ten years. Friendships I thought would survive the hardest seasons of my life didn't. Then my mom received her cancer diagnosis in 2022.

And that's nowhere near the entire list.

Life can suck.

Really.

Sometimes it isn't one thing. It's layers and layers of hits. Almost like standing in the ocean and another wave crashes into you before you've gotten your footing from the last one.

Then there are changes that aren't tragedies at all.

Children grow up. Families change. Businesses change. Dreams change. Priorities change.

I change.

Actually, I hope I'm changing.

Years ago I wrote the question, Am I really changing?

I think the answer is yes—but little bits and pieces at a time.

Through the good, the bad and the ugly.

When I said yes to ADONAI, to Yeshua the Messiah as LORD over my life, change was inevitable if I was actually going to seek Him as King and LORD.

That doesn't mean I've done it perfectly.

Not. Even. Close.

I'm still learning what surrender and obedience actually look like.

But What Does It Mean That God Doesn't Change?

This is where I started wrestling.

Because it's easy to put “Life changes. God doesn't.” on a pretty picture.

It's another thing to ask:

What does Scripture actually mean when it says God doesn't change?

I landed in Malachi.

“But because I, Adonai, do not change, you sons of Ya‘akov will not be destroyed.”

— Malachi 3:6

And when I started studying the context, I realized this wasn't simply a nice verse telling me that God will make my changing life feel stable.

God was speaking to Israel.

The people had been unfaithful. Malachi was calling out corruption, injustice, spiritual apathy and disobedience.

There is judgment in this book.

There is repentance.

There is purification.

There is covenant.

And right there in the middle of it:

“I, Adonai, do not change.”

That made me look at this differently.

His unchanging nature doesn't mean my circumstances won't change.

It doesn't mean life won't hurt.

It doesn't even mean I shouldn't change.

It means He remains faithful to who He is and to what He has said.

Numbers 23:19 says that God isn't human that He should lie or change His mind. What He says, He will do. What He promises, He will fulfill.

Hebrews 13:8 tells us:

“Yeshua the Messiah is the same yesterday, today and forever.”

That's a very different kind of security.

Maybe I'm the One Who Needs to Change

I think this might be one of the harder lessons for me.

I can read God's Word thinking about somebody else who needs to change.

Anybody else? 😂

But normally, I'm the one who ends up getting changed.

My perspective changes.

My heart changes.

Sometimes I begin seeing a person through God's eyes instead of through my hurt and anger.

Sometimes Scripture shows me that something I've believed or done needs another look.

And sometimes I end up with more questions than answers.

That's happening in my life right now.

I'm asking questions about Scripture, obedience, Sabbath, the biblical way of living, stewardship of my body and what it really means to follow Yeshua.

And I don't have all of those answers.

I don't want to pretend that I do.

I'm learning.

I'm wrestling.

I'm trying to approach Scripture with humility and understand who it was written to, the culture, the context and what God actually said—not simply what I have always assumed it says.

Sometimes that means realizing I need to change.

God doesn't.

So Why Am I Writing This?

When Simple Farm Life began, I honestly had no clue where it was leading. I just knew I desired a simpler life.

I've since learned that simple doesn't necessarily mean easy.

And somewhere along the way, this became about much more than making products or living a certain lifestyle.

I'm learning to follow Yeshua more intentionally in every area of my life.

I'm learning what it means to care for the body He entrusted to me.

I'm learning about the biblical roots of my faith.

I'm learning about obedience and grace.

I'm learning through grief, joy, marriage, family, work and ordinary life.

And sometimes I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing.

That's probably important for you to know. 😂

I'm not writing Simply Written because I'm an authority who has figured all this out.

I'm writing as a student.

There are things I'm going to wrestle with here. There may be things I understand differently a year from now because I've continued studying. There will probably be questions I can't answer.

But I know where I want to keep turning for the answers.

I want to know God.

I want to know His Word.

I want a heart humble enough to be corrected and obedient enough to change when He shows me something.

And maybe, as I learn, wrestle, stumble, repent, laugh, grieve and live this very ordinary life, something I share will encourage someone else walking through theirs.

Because after everything that has changed, I'm beginning to understand why these four words mean so much to me:

Life changes. God doesn't.

And maybe that's exactly where Simply Written is supposed to begin.