Much of our world is in a constant state of change. However, there are some things that never change:

  • Sometimes the treatment does not work and the patient does not get better.

  • Sometimes the prodigal does not come home.

  • Sometimes the working conditions do not improve.

  • Sometimes the attitude stays the same.

  • Sometimes the marriage falls apart.

  • Sometimes the finances do not improve.

  • Sometimes the division cannot be mended.

  • Sometimes the broken heart cannot be healed.

  • Sometimes the grief does not end.

  • Sometimes the loneliness does not stop.

  • Sometimes the disappointment is too great.

  • Sometimes the person does not forgive you.

  • Sometimes no matter how hard or how much you pray things do not change.

When Jesus was in the garden He "… fell with his face to the ground and prayed, 'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me'" (Matthew 26:39, NIV).

So, what are we to do when things don't change?
Paul struggled with some malady he called a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan. Later he writes, "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

So, what are we to do when things don't change?

When Jesus realized that nothing was going to change he said, "Yet not as I will, but as you will" (Matthew 26:39).

When Paul realized nothing was going to change he wrote:

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

When things do not change. Hang on to God. Surrender to His will. Rely on His strength to get you through.