GOD'S UNFAILING YEARS

And your years shall not fail (Heb. 1:12). 

This verse is nestled in a context that deals with the origin of the heavens and the earth.

And you, Lord, in the beginning has laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the work of your hands: they shall perish; but you remain; and they shall all wax old as does a garment; and as a vesture shall you fold them up, and they shall be changed: but you are the same, and your years shall not fail — Heb. 1:10-12

These verses show the deterioration of the heavens and the earth.  This reminds us of the first law of thermodynamics which states that everything in creation is running down. 

Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, taught that everything is in a state of flux. “All things proceed from a dry and warm principle and eventually return to it: everything is in a state of perpetual change, and there is nothing immutable in the eternal process but the Law which governs it and which men can modify.”  The governing Law, of course, is our God in control of all things by His sovereign power.

While the context of these verses, reminds us that the heavens and the earth will pass away, God Himself is always the same, and His years shall not fail.  In Hebrews 13 we read, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever.”  Hebrews 6:17 speaks of the immutability of God’s unerring counsel.  

Throughout the Bible, we discover some basic truths about God’s person, power, and presence. First, of all, God is the omnipotent Creator. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). This opening verse in the Bible is simple, clear, and direct.  It refutes pantheism which teaches that all is God and God is all. It refutes evolution which denies a personal God and which sees only a blind, undefinable force at work in the world. Paganism is also confounded here since the Bible teaches us that there is only one God (cf. Isa. 42:8).  

God is eternal; He is before creation.  Therefore, matter is not coexistent or coequal with God.   “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made” (John 1:3). God is also transcendent, meaning that He is above creation.  He is: “The high and lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy” (Isa. 57:15). 

We also note that God is the faithful Creator.  Because of this His years shall not fail.  “Wherefore, let them suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator” (I Pet. 4:19). 

God is faithful to His creation.  “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” (Gen. 8:22).  God, in His infinite and matchless wisdom has decreed the divisions of the seasons.  He cares for their orderly unfolding as the years roll on in obedience to His perfect plan.  God is faithful to the sun, moon, and stars. 

God is faithful to His creatures.  “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not better than they?” (Matt. 6:26). 

God’s faithfulness to His saints is also shown.  So much of our time is given over to fretting, worrying, doubting, stewing.  Someone has said, “Why worry when you can pray.”  Let’s reflect upon the truth that “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd:  he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with you” (Isa. 40:11). 

Second Chronicles 16:9 is a tremendous promise that will strengthen our confidence in the Lord if we put it into practice: “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.”  What an encouraging uplift to our hearts to remember that the Lord is always with us!  He has promised that we shall not fail!  “Seek and read from the book of the LORD, not one of these shall fail” (Isa. 34:16). 

He is the condescending Lord.  From the heights of honored glory, the Lord Jesus came down in condescending grace to dwell among His creation.  It is a wonderful truth that God dwells among His people. “Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode (home) with him’” (John 14:23). 

 Hebrews 1:12 states, God’s “years shall not fail.” He has promised to be with us forever.  As He declares, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:20).