Change /chānj/ verb: to make different in some particular : ALTER.
According to the Bible, there is a time for everything. There is a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. There is a time for everything under the sun. Let's talk about the shift that happens in between those times. How does the transition affect the person? How do things look, especially when the change is so drastic?
Many of us are constantly praying for change but, oftentimes, we find it difficult to embrace the shift that has happened in our lives when that change finally comes. What makes us so hesitant to embrace the change we’ve been praying for? And what should our attitudes as Christians be towards the new thing that the Lord is doing in our lives?
Let's take a look at the Israelites. The Lord heard their cries and delivered them, but once they were delivered from the hands of their taskmasters and were in the wilderness, they complained. They complained even to the point that they wanted to return to the very place that the Lord delivered them from.
Change usually involves transitions, and for many people that can be a bit scary. Letting go is never easy especially if you have gotten used to your situation and have even learned to hold onto it. Fear of detachment is real. In Exodus 16:3 (New King James Version), it is written, “And the children of Israel said to them, ‘Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’ ” The bible tells us that the Israelites were hungry and started to complain to Moses, their leader. They were focusing on what they were losing instead of what they were going to gain, a land flowing with milk and honey. Who wouldn’t want a land flowing with milk and honey? But they were familiar with what they had in Egypt. Now they were in a place where every meal of theirs was based on the timing of the Lord.
What makes change difficult is having to embrace a new or unfamiliar reality. Whether you find yourself in the rain, in the sun, mourning, dancing, weeping or laughing, it is important to hold onto the Lord at all times. Changes happen and as Christians we embrace that change by holding onto the Lord with the understanding that although there has been a shifting in your life or in the world, God, upon whom you hold, remains the same. In Hebrews 13:8, it is written, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” If you have found yourself in a rainy season, remember that Jesus Christ is the same; if you find yourself in a time of uncertainty, remember that Jesus Christ is the same; if you ever find yourself laughing or dancing, remember that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
In Isaiah 43:18-19, it is written, “ ‘Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.” As Christians, we embrace change by observing the new thing that the Lord is doing, not holding onto the old, but always holding onto Christ as the former things pass away and the new things come in. Amen!
AUDIO ARTICLE
change. 2022. Merriam-Webster.com. Change.ed August 8, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/change
Comments