Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and yes forever.” Do you know what that means? It means this, God always acts like Himself wherever He may be and whatever He may be doing. When He entered this world in flesh and bone, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, He did not cease to act in the way He had been acting from all eternity.
And yet, be honest now, how often do we expect Him to act in different way on our behalf? Maybe just this once He will make an exception! I know that His Word says that He will not hear my prayer if I harbor anger or unforgiveness against another. But maybe, just this once He will make an exception. I know that he calls me to be honest in all of my dealings but maybe just this once He will overlook that number that I fudged on my Form 1040. You get the idea?
When this never-changing God comes to live in the heart of the believer by His Holy Spirit, He continues to conduct Himself as He always has, desiring to take us by hand and bringing us along.
Hundreds, of times, over the years, I have begun my day praying, “Lord, please walk by my side today.” What He has showed me is that my prayer should be, “Lord, help me to walk at your side today.”
You may think this is merely semantics, but it is not. Asking Him to walk at my side is bringing Him into my agenda, asking to walk at His side brings me into His, where He calls me to follow His lead. Jesus said that He did nothing; that He said nothing on His own initiative (John 12:49). He only did and He only said that which the Father willed for Him to do and speak. In Jesus we see total submission to the Father’s will, the Father’s agenda.
Walking at His side is confessing, “I’ll go where you want me to go dear Lord; I’ll do what you want me to do; I’ll say what you want me to say.” Walking at His side changes everything!