A message of hope for an anxious day: God never changes. He is still here and ready to transform our lives. What we must ask is if we are ready to respond to him. The senior pastor of one of the largest and most diverse churches in America calls out a common feeling: It's easy to wonder if God has just... left. There is a rising sense of uncertainty and turmoil in the world. Our individual lives are often touched by disappointment, confusion, or regret. Sometimes, if we're honest, we can even feel abandoned by God. Pastor Jarrett Stephens has been there, engaging personal doubt and frustration, and learning how to walk with others through their own anxieties into a better future. Throughout Scripture, God reveals himself using various names to describe his nature and character. Each tells us something fascinating about his character. The eternal name God chose to use when revealing himself to Moses at the burning bush was "I AM," indicating how, while others change, God does not. Centuries later, Jesus ascribed this title to himself, giving seven distinct "I AM" statements, which help us see how the "I AM" from the past is still the "I AM" today. This unfailing, good nature of the always God helps us find solid footing in a shifting world. The Always God gives hope to those who think God has given up on us or is no longer responding. It invites us to quiet ourselves and listen to the God who does not change or forget us. Not ever. And that changes everything. Jarrett Stephens is the senior pastor of Champion Forest Baptist Church, in Houston, Texas, one of the largest and most diverse churches in America, and he is the author of The Mountains Are Calling . He has a bachelor of arts in biblical studies and psychology from Ouachita Baptist University, a master of divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a doctorate of ministry from Liberty Theological Seminary. Jarrett and his wife, Debbie, live in northwest Houston Texas, with their daughters. Chapter 1 Always Seeing Does God really see me? If so, why does it feel like he doesn’t? Is he ignoring me? I’ll never forget the phone call. My sister and her family were visiting us, and we were on our way to eat lunch. As we drove to the restaurant, I got a phone call from one of my college roommates from back in the day. I normally would have picked up, but because my sister was in town and we were catching up, I decided to let the call go to voice mail. About ten minutes passed. We were all piling out of the car to head into the restaurant when the phone rang again. It was the same friend. I’ve been in ministry long enough to know that back-to-back phone calls in a short time span are rarely good. I told my family to go in, and I took the phone call. “Did you hear about Zac?” No greeting. No pleasantries. Just this question. Zac, another roommate from college, was one of the funniest people I have ever met. A good comparison is Chandler from Friends. Sarcastic. Witty. Quick with a comeback. Everyone who knew Zac liked him. When we graduated college, I moved to Dallas and he went back home to Northwest Arkansas. We didn’t remain in close contact through the years. We would send texts back and forth every now and then. We followed each other on social media, and occasionally he’d make fun of me in a comment. Zac had married a few years ago and then had a son. He and his wife, Kelly, were very open on social media about their journey raising their son, Everett (or Ev), who was diagnosed with achondroplasia shortly after his birth. Most people know it as dwarfism. Because of his son’s condition, Zac had been on my mind a lot and I prayed for him often. Zac and Kelly were doing an amazing job at not only raising Ev but also helping to educate many people on the facts about dwarfism. They were living out their faith in a way that was honest, real, and transparent. I knew Zac was a believer, and I could tell caring for his son was taking him deeper in his walk with the Lord. The day I got the phone call was Zac’s forty-first birthday. Evidently, he left his house after having breakfast with Kelly and Ev and hopped on his brand-new motorcycle. As he was pulling out of the neighborhood, the bike got away from him and he ran into oncoming traffic. He died instantly. Forty-one years old. On his birthday. Leaving behind a beautiful wife and three-year-old boy. I felt numb. When I got off the phone and walked into the restaurant to join my family, my wife and sister immediately knew something was wrong. I told them the news and made it through lunch the best I could. But I could not stop thinking about Zac. More than that, I could not get Kelly and Everett off my mind. None of it made sense to me. How could this happen? What was God doing?   Eyes like Roz One of my girls’ favorite movies when they were little was Monsters, Inc. Well, I’ll be honest, this was one of my favorites. Who couldn’t like the lead characters—er, monsters—James P. Sullivan a