The Only Thing that Isn't Temporary
He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved. (Psalm 104:5)
Today we are facing Coronavirus, tomorrow it will be something else. We often feel as if the world is traveling too fast, and we long to just get off the treadmill, even for a short time. Nothing seems to be lasting. My wife and I were taking a walk the other day and we were talking about television sets. Her parents had the same console television for as long as Jill can remember, over thirty years. Now, these new flat screens are lucky to last as long as a computer – four or five years. It seems that way with everything, because everything is temporary.
It was Mary Baker Eddy who said, “Nothing we can say or believe regarding matter is immortal, for matter is temporal and is therefore a mortal phenomenon, a human concept, sometimes beautiful, always erroneous.” Once we let go of all the material aspects of life, and place them in the “temporary” category, inner peace is easier to find. Dr. Christine Bradstreet, in her article, “Everything is Temporary” confirms, “The hard times are temporary, and the good times are temporary.”
Before one despairs the pain of the temporary nature of good times, one must celebrate the comfort that hard times are not lasting either. The only lasting thing in this world is God. God was here at the creation of the universe, and God will be here for all eternity. God is our only lasting reality. Everything else will come and go.
If you seek stability in life, turn to the one being who is permanent. God is dependable – not only a creator, but also one who redeems and sustains us. People are turning away from God in record numbers; but, in time, those same people will experience all of life’s temporary things slipping away. When there is nothing left to hold on to, they just might call out to the permanency of God. That is my greatest hope and deepest prayer. Prayerfully affirm God’s permanence in your life, in the life of our world, and the entire universe.
