Unchanging Hope in a Changing World: A Case for the Immutability of God

In a world that shifts—God stays solid.

For the hurting, questioning, and weary soul—Christian or not.

“I the Lord do not change.” Malachi 3:6“

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” —Hebrews 13:8

We live in a world where nothing stays the same. Relationships break. Jobs vanish. Health fades. People let us down. Even our emotions are in constant flux. What once felt certain can quickly become unstable. And if you're hurting, that kind of instability doesn’t just unsettle your circumstances—it can shake your soul.

But what if there is One who never changes? One who cannot lie to you today and abandon you tomorrow. One who isn’t surprised by your suffering, who isn’t fickle in His love, and who doesn’t outgrow His promises. That One is the God of the Bible.

This is the doctrine of immutability—that God does not change. Not in His character, not in His purposes, not in His promises.

And that’s not just a theological idea. It’s an anchor.

What Does It Mean That God Is Immutable?

The word immutable means “unchanging” or “not subject to change.” When we say God is immutable, we mean:

• His nature and character never change – He is always holy, always just, always merciful.

• His purposes are fixed – He never wavers in His plans or second-guesses His will.

• His promises are certain – What He says, He will do. Always.

God doesn’t wake up in a different mood. He doesn’t evolve with culture. He doesn’t grow in knowledge. He is who He has always been. Perfect. Complete. Unshakeable.

Why Does This Matter When You’re Hurting?

Because in the face of suffering, you need something solid. Someone solid. You need a God whose love for you doesn’t shrink when your faith does. A God who isn’t absent when your world falls apart.

Psalm 102:25–27 speaks directly to this comfort:

“In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment.…But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”

Everything around you may wear out. But God remains. Not distant, not detached—constant.

A.W. Tozer: God Does Not Change, Because He Cannot Improve

In his book The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer wrote:

“All that God is He has always been, and all that He has been and is He will ever be…God cannot change for the better, since He is perfectly holy; He has never been less holy than He is now, and can never be holier than He is.”

In other words, God doesn’t change because there is nothing in Him that needs changing. He doesn’t get better because He’s already perfect. He doesn’t evolve because there is no lack in Him. And that is very good news for people like us, who are exhausted by people and promises that keep letting us down.

Anselm: No Parts, No Division, No Variation

The 11th-century theologian Anselm of Canterbury, in his classic work Proslogion, observed that:

“Whatever is composed of parts is not altogether one… But these things are alien to Thee, Lord…Thou art unity itself, indivisible by any conception.”

What Anselm’s getting at is this: God isn’t made up of pieces or moods that shift. He is not partly loving and partly just. He is wholly all that He is, all the time. No division. No inconsistency.

This means the love God had for you before your pain is the same love He has for you in it—and will have on the other side of it.

But What About When It Feels Like God Has Changed?

If you’ve prayed and nothing changed…If you’ve cried and no answer came…If you’ve begged for healing or relief and it never arrived… It’s okay to admit that God feels far or indifferent. The Bible never asks you to fake your feelings. But it does ask you to plant them in truth.

Job, who lost nearly everything, cried out in confusion. The psalms are full of lament and longing. Even Jesus, in Gethsemane and on the cross, cried out in anguish. But what anchored them—and what can anchor you—is the unchanging character of God.

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken…” —Isaiah 54:10

For the Non-Christian Skeptic

You might wonder: if God is unchanging, then why doesn’t He stop the evil and suffering in the world?

It’s a fair question. But here’s another one: What if it’s precisely because God is unchanging that we have any hope at all that justice will be done and evil won’t win?

His justice does not waver. His mercy has not run out. And His invitation still stands:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” —Matthew 11:28

God’s immutability means His arms are still open. Still strong. Still scarred for you.

For the Christian Who Feels Forgotten

God hasn’t changed. His Word hasn’t changed. His plan hasn’t changed.

“If we are faithless, He remains faithful—He cannot deny Himself.” —2 Timothy 2:13

You are not unseen. You are not unloved. You are not forsaken. The One who was faithful to Abraham, Moses, Ruth, David, Peter, and Paul…is faithful to you. He is the same God today.

Final Word: An Anchor in the Storm

You don’t need a God who changes with the seasons. You need a God who is the same in every season.

And that’s exactly who He is:

“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind.” —Numbers 23:19

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” —James 1:17

So hold on.

Not because your grip is strong—but because His nature is. His love is fixed. His promises are sure. And His mercy is new every morning—not because He changes, but because you need Him every day. And He is always there.

In a world where everything changes… God doesn’t. And that might just be the most comforting truth of all.