As a reader, I love stories about characters who get thrust into difficult, changing circumstances and yet come out the other side better for it. It’s exciting to see a character’s beliefs tested, attributes developed and life goals realigned as they step outside their comfort zone and face new things.
And yet, as a Believer, I groan when God writes these kinds of stories for me to live out. In real life, I don’t like change! Unknowns make me nervous. So, usually, when I first sense God calling me out of my comfort zone, I respond with something like, “No thanks, God. I’ll just wait for the movie to come out. I really don’t need to experience that firsthand.”
Such protestations rarely stop God from writing change into our stories, though. And we should be thankful for this—because when God is the One plotting our stories, change can actually be the making of us. Genesis 12:1 is a perfect example of this. It says, “Now the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country and your relatives, and your Father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you.” In the narrative that follows, Abram responds by faith as he leaves his old life behind and finds new life and identity in the LORD. As promised, he was both blessed and became a blessing to others.
For those of us who dread change, one thing is very interesting about this. All the good parts of Abraham’s story, came after this pivotal moment, where he left what was known to pursue a life of living by faith. Abraham was made (he was transformed into the person God always intended him to be) through the changes and unknowns he faced—because he didn’t face them alone. He faced them with Almighty God. And the same is true for us.
If we are Christians, then similar to Abram, we have responded to God’s call on our hearts by faith—and we can expect that, as our stories continue, we will be regularly invited into new chapters, new challenges and new opportunities to trust God. Despite our discomfort, this is a good thing. The changes and unknowns we fear might break us actually have the power to make us—because we face them with the unchanging, all-knowing God by our side.
ONE. Facing change with the unchanging One makes us secure.
God said to Abram, “Leave your country and your relatives, and your Father’s house, and go…”
Though Abram’s obedient response to God’s call was good and right, leaving everything behind had to feel unsettling. The environments, companions and cultures Abram saw day-in and day-out would be different from this point forward and, as a result, there were likely losses he had to grieve and new norms he had to adjust to. If I were Abram, I would have felt very unsteady at the beginning of this journey.
And yet, despite what his feelings may have told him, Abram was actually more secure than ever before—because it was the LORD who was calling him and it was the LORD who declared He had a plan of blessing for his life.
You know, the name our Bibles usually render “LORD” is actually the name “Yahweh” and I love what Psalm 145:8-9 says about this name. “Yahweh is gracious, merciful, slow to anger and of great lovingkindness. Yahweh is good to all. His tender mercies are over all His works.” And then, in Malachi 3:6, God Himself says, “…I, Yahweh, don’t change…” This is the God who called Abram to make these life-altering changes.
When God called Abram to leave friends, family and everything familiar behind, He wasn’t asking him to live destitute, with nothing. He was offering Himself to Abram, for every need he had. The LORD would be Abram’s new constant, new dwelling place, new friend and family. No matter where he went or who was around him, God Himself would be there, faithfully looking after him.
This should encourage us. Though I won’t say that God directly causes every change in our lives (some are caused by the sins of others, for example) I do believe that God has work He wants to do in us through every change we face. And ultimately, I believe that work is to cause us to rely on Him more than on anything or anyone else.
You see, when everything remains the same, we tend to rely on what’s familiar—our jobs, families, homes, etc.—for a sense of security. But when those things start to change—or even disappear—we are reminded: even our soundest supports in this life are fragile. God is our only true constant and our only true security. The people, places and things we love may come and go from our lives. But the LORD, Yahweh, will always be there—steady and loving us.
So, what is changing in your life right now? And how might God be using that situation to invite you to find your security in Him alone?
When we face change with the One who is unchangingly good, gracious and loving, we can know true security. No matter what, we’ll have Him and He’ll have us safe in the palm of His hand. This is a security that can never be stolen away by earthly changes.
TWO. Facing unknowns with the all-knowing One makes us hopeful.
God said to Abram, “Leave…and go to the land that I will show you.”
When Abram set out on this new adventure with God, He did not know his destination. He had to travel step by step, day by day, trusting the LORD would lead him somewhere good and provide promised blessings Abram couldn’t see yet. You and I are called to live in very much the same way. As I said at the start, unknowns make me nervous. But they really shouldn’t.
The One who sees all the details of the future is the One leading me and you into it. There are no unknowns to God. As Psalm 139:12 says, “the darkness is like light to you.” Our all-knowing God knows exactly what we will face tomorrow, next week, next year and 10 years from now—and He has plans to be good to us through it all. He knows where He is leading us. He also knows us. That means we can trust Him, today, with what we don’t know. We can trust Him to prepare us, direct us, and sustain us as He brings us through highs and lows to the happy ending He has already written.
This also means that, though the future is full of unknowns to us, we can still look forward to it with hope.
Think about it: How does remembering that our good God knows the plans He has for your future, give you renewed hope for tomorrow?
In this life, we don’t get to read ahead to future chapters to satisfy our curiosity or to quell our anxiety. But we don’t need to. Our all-knowing, all-powerful God has it all under control. Just like He did with Abram, He knows the plans He has for us—and He won’t change His mind or His character along the way.
Through all the difficult, changing circumstances we face in this life, we can trust: we will come out the other side better for it—because our unchanging, all-knowing God is with us. And He is making us into the people He always intended us to be, through it all.
Because He is unchanging, we can rest secure despite the changes. And because He knows the future (and His good plans for it), we can have hope in the face of unknowns.
So, may we look at all changes and unknowns in our lives today and remember: with God, they just might be part of the making of us.
This devotion is based on one of the Scriptures from my three year reading plan: “The Whole Counsel of Scripture.” To receive a copy of the first year’s reading plan (and future reading plans when they become available), sign up for the email list below. Hope you’ll follow along!
Written by Paige K. Burhans
©2026 Paige K. Burhans
Scriptures taken from the World English Bible and the World English Bible British Edition. Public Domain.
