“What will never go away?”

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“The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever.”
Isaiah 40:8

Nothing is forever.  That is what this picture says to me today, a picture of once mighty firs, once standing tall and proud next to the river, now fallen and destroyed by the fearful force of the river.  The grass grows, flowers bloom, but within just a few days they wither, fall, and die.  Life is short and the end is always near.

And so it is true in our lives as humans.  What is the span of our lives?  Seventy, eighty years, or even one hundred?  How quickly pass our few short days on this earth!  How quickly our lives are ended.  Is there anything that really lasts?  That you and I can count on forever?

These thoughts are often with me shortly after the death of my father.  Ninety-eight years seems a long time in human reckoning, but a short time in comparison to eternity.  How did my Dad have the courage to face death with calmness and peace in his last days? What did he have to count on as he drew his last breath, as his life and strength withered and died?

Dad had something that goes on forever.  “The word of our God stands forever.”  And that is what Dad lived and believed and relied upon every day of his life.  Although people come and go, although everything fades away, God’s Word will not fail.  God is faithful and His promises last forever.

God’s Word flows on like a mighty river, day after day pouring forth life giving, eternal nourishment and faith to our souls.  My Dad put His trust in what would never wither or fade away, in the eternal, life giving Word of God. Here, too, you and I can find eternal life, in what will never leave us, the promises of God in our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.”

Text and Picture Copyright Steve Nickodemus