We can give thanks to God that, as we await the coming of the Lord Jesus, we always have with us His precious Word, which not only does not change but “abides for eternity” (1 Pet. 1:25). This world wants to make us believe God’s Word is archaic, man-made, full of mistakes, not from God, and that it should be adapted to our times. But not so! It is “not men’s word, but … as it is truly, God’s word” (1 Th. 2:13), and it does not change: “the word of the Lord abides for eternity” (1 Pet. 1:25).

We are also blessed and privileged to have God’s Holy Spirit who abides with us, and is in us, and will be with us forever (Jn. 14:16–17)! The natural man can neither receive nor know the things of God, but the Spirit of God makes us know “the things which have been freely given to us of God” (1 Cor. 2:12). And thus we can build ourselves up on our most holy faith, the Spirit of God using the Word of God to make us know and grasp as a living and present reality the things concerning “Him who has called [us] out of darkness to His wonderful light” (1 Pet. 2:9), as well as all of God’s eternal purpose “for them that love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9).

Haggai had a similar message for his contemporaries when he declared from the Lord, “Work: for I am with you, saith Jehovah of hosts. The word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, and my Spirit, remain among you: fear ye not” (Hag. 2:4–5). The people had to rebuild the temple, for the Messiah, “the desire of all nations” (v. 7), was coming, and there was work still to be done. And so for us: until we hear the sound of the last trumpet, we have the same encouragement, to work at the edification of the body of Christ (Eph. 4:11–12), finding all the resources of grace we need to do so in our soon coming Lord Jesus Christ!