I have always been a big fan of constants; my viewpoint must have evolved during the many hours of math class I have taken since high school. In any math equation there can be three potential parts: a number, variable or constant. A variable is something that varies (math names are pretty easy to follow); for instance, the time that the sun rises is different every day. It varies. The price of gasoline varies with respect to where it is purchased, and when.
A number should be considered a constant; the number nine is always equal to nine. (Duh) Other well-known constants in math are the speed of light (as in E=mc²), 186, 282 miles per second, or the fact that there are always 360° in a circle. There are never 359° in a circle; it won’t happen because it is a constant.
I am trying to make the release of my blog a constant every Monday morning, but there have only been twelve occurrences, so we cannot call it a constant yet. Of course, that begs the question: How many times does an occurrence have to be exactly repeated to be considered a constant? My guess would be that something would have to repeat in exactly the same way an infinite number of times to be known as a constant. It could never vary.
Constants in life are rare. My wife and I will constantly love each other, not that we won’t argue or get mad, but the love will never change. That same constant applies for my kids as well. However, I struggle to identify another constant; it’s not at work – unless being consistently inconsistent is a constant. Other relationships, as meaningful and important as they are, lack the commitment seen in a family to warrant the title of a constant. I am beginning to believe that the weekly occurrence of some moron in government (any government, anywhere) getting involved in an inappropriate use of a body part is a constant. In fact, the absence of character or a moral compass by elected officials may become the next big, mathematically proven constant in the universe; but I digress.
God and His promises are a constant. I realize that it takes faith and belief to agree with that statement; nonetheless, it is a fact. God never varies, never slips, never makes a mistake, never changes, never gives up, never forgets, and always forgives. The constant in God that I lean on the most often is prayer. He answers every prayer sent His way. It’s a guarantee.
That is pretty cool considering the number of emails that I delete daily without ever opening them, and that doesn’t even count the ones I have predetermined to be spam that are deleted before I even see them. Or consider all the times we have asked someone for something and we never get what we ask for, nor do we get any kind of explanation.
God made the commitment to answer every prayer, sent by every person, throughout time.
Please realize though, that NO is an answer, as well as YES. Also remember that He tends to do things in His timing, so an answer of YES but when I say so, is a popular choice. He might even say, NO, not now, but I will change it to YES, if you do X, Y, and Z.
To get the answer from God, (Note: His answer may not be what you think you want), it is important to know how to ask, and know what to ask for. How to ask is easy, just talk. In the beginning, conversations with God are one sided; you talk and He listens. After some time and practice you will learn how to listen to Him; then you will realize that He was talking back to you all along. Knowing what to ask for entails getting to know your audience, and His story is in your Bible, so pick it up and read it.
If everything in life was constantly predictable it would be very boring, and when everything is unpredictable life is just crazy. So a mixture of unpredictability with the consistency brought by God makes for a great day.
Thanks for reading,
Michael Obermire