Change is difficult but inevitable. All around us we see change: the weather changes on a daily basis in the UK; circumstances can change swiftly; families change each year as people are born, grow and die.
Most of us find change difficult to manage, because it involves the unknown. We prefer change we can control (such as deciding to exercise or changing what we eat) to unexpected and unplanned change, as the latter threatens our carefully constructed world and leaves us feeling vulnerable.
Our lives, however, are in God’s hands, and when viewed this way, change becomes less threatening, for God is never taken by surprise and has long-term plans for us which are rooted in His goodness and love.
Spiritual growth will always involve change, the putting off of the old self (with its familiar tendency to manipulate, control, worry and fret) and the putting on of the new (with its emphasis on trust, even when we don’t understand or see what God is doing.) The disciples asked Jesus ‘Who then can be saved?’ (Matt 19:25) when He had told them that human wealth was no guarantee of entering the kingdom of God. His reply may surprise us: ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’ (Matt 19:26) We have, in other words, ‘no chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it.’ (Matt 19:25-26, The Message)
Change involves trusting God to do the things you can’t do. Change can be painful and unwelcome, but God works in all circumstances for good. When we despair and feel things will never change, we are leaving God out of the equation. With Him, all things are possible.
