Life can be fun, awesome, exciting, and amazing. We don’t always know what tomorrow will bring, but no matter what, we must learn to adapt to change. September is the month we change seasons from summer to fall. Change is a part of life, so we must learn to handle it in a positive way. There are small changes that we manage pretty good, and then there are huge changes that can seem scary and even cause stress. Remember – CHANGE is going to happen. Change is inevitable and can be challenging, but change can be a good thing. Inevitable means you can’t avoid it, it’s sure to happen occur or come. Change is a part of life.
Don’t Worry
Imagine when Jesus told the disciples I’ll be leaving soon. They didn’t understand. Jesus was healing the sick and raising the dead. They thought things were going pretty well and were probably wondering why he was leaving. They wanted him to stay because they leaned on Him and depended on him for support. Jesus said to his disciples, “Don’t be worried! Have faith in God and have faith in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I wouldn’t tell you this unless it was true. I am going there to prepare a place for each of you. After I have done this, I will come back and take you with me. Then we will be together” John 14:1-3
Help Is On The Way
God had BIG plans. God was preparing them to do great things. God gave them an example to follow, which was Jesus. Jesus told them not to fight over who would be the greatest. He washed their feet and served them and told them that whoever wanted to be the greatest must serve others. Jesus told them that he wouldn’t leave them helpless. He told them that, “the Holy Spirit will come and help you, because the Father will send the Spirit to take my place. The Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of what I said while I was with you.” John 14:26
Let Go & Trust
When change hits you in the face, what are you going to do? How will you react? Just like a coach is up in the press box watching the whole field from up high to call the plays because he sees the big picture, you have to remember that God is way up high, and He can see things from a higher vantage point than you and has good plans for you. He loves you and sent His only Son to die for you, so you can trust Him with your future and trust that He will help you thru all the changes that come your way. You can’t control everything. The only thing that stays the same is change.
Preparation Time – Growth
Think about Joseph. God gave him a dream that he would do great things, but he went thru many changes and challenges (Genesis 37-50). He didn’t get bitter. He got better. He learned to overcome challenges and work on his character. He learned to walk in love and forgive and help other people. Change isn’t bad. It can be a good thing. Change makes us grow. Some change is sad, but some change is really great. Focus on the positive. Be thankful for what you have been able to enjoy for the time it’s in your life. Get excited about the future. Jesus told his disciples, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” Expect greater. The best is yet to come!
It’s Just An Opportunity
God will lead you and guide you through the changing seasons of life, and remember that it’s an opportunity to grow. James 1:2-4 in the Message translation says, “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”
Stretching To A New Level
Don’t get stagnant and hold on to the old. Be open to change, knowing that God has something better in front of you. Think about all the new opportunities and new relationships and new levels of favor that God is bringing your way. Remember that God uses new situations to stretch you and push you into new levels to bless you to be a blessing. Learn to embrace change. Don’t fight it. Embrace it and allow it to make you a better person. Overcome the challenges and then help others thru the same challenges you have conquered.
Relax & Quit Fighting Against Change
“Woe to him who strives with his Maker!….Shall the clay say to him who fashions it, What do you think you are making? Or, Your work has no handles?” Isaiah 45:9 God is the potter, and we are the clay. He’s trying to mold you and shape you into a vessel with a good purpose. Sometimes the things we fight against, the very things that we think are trying to pull us down, are actually the hand of God trying to push us into a new season. God will stir us out of comfortable situations that make us stretch – situations that force us to use our faith. You may not like it. It may be uncomfortable, but God loves you too much to just leave you stagnant. You need to keep growing. Just as God can supernaturally open doors of opportunity, sometimes He may close doors you don’t need to go thru. God is ordering your steps. If someone does you wrong, if you have a setback, if you lose a loved one, you can either embrace that change and allow God to use it to take you higher or you can resist it, and you’ll end up become stagnant and settling for mediocrity. Stay open to change.
It’s Not As Bad As You Think
Don’t approach change from a negative point of view. All change is not bad. Even if it seems negative on the surface, God can work all things for your good. You are supposed to stir up the gifts that are inside you. God is a God of increase. He expects you to multiply and increase the gifts and talents He has given you. God didn’t give you a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind with discipline and self-control. You were created in the image of God. You were created for greatness.
Not Why Me? But Who Can I Help?
Discomfort is the breeding ground for change. An eagle will eventually remove the comfy feathers from the nest to encourage the eaglets to get out and fly, because they were meant to soar not to sit in the nest forever. Don’t get mad, angry or bitter and sit around asking, “why me?” Sow a seed to help someone else and dig your way out of that hole. Shake it off and step up! They say you find the answers to your problems by helping someone else with theirs.
You Can Reach Your Full Potential
If you learn to embrace change, the winds that you thought would defeat you will actually push you to your divine destiny. Sometimes we don’t make the changes we need to make. We don’t like to rock the boat. You may be praying for God’s help, and He may have to turn the boat over to force you to move forward, not because He’s mean, not because He’s trying to make your life miserable, but because He has such a great desire to see you reach your full potential. If He doesn’t close some doors, you will never move ahead.
Don’t fight change!
Embrace it, and you will step into the fullness of what God has in store!
Excerpts from I Declare – 31 Promises To Speak Over Your Life and I Declare Personal Application Guide by Joel Osteen and an article by Kellie Copeland in the Believer’s Voice Of Victory magazine