Dealing with Change

Change. This is a word I don’t think anyone wants to hear unless it involves clothes. Why does this seem to be the case? Because change is scary. Deathly frightening. Change usually includes doing something outside of one’s comfort zone, leaving something that is familiar and comfortable. Sara and I are going to have change thrown in our faces at the end of this week. The kind of change that is really, really hard; Sara will be moving.

When I was little, moving was something new and exciting. But now that I’m older, it is something I dread. One of my biggest fears is that I’ll have to move somewhere far away; so far that I will have to give up everything that I Iove to do, say goodbye to all of my friends and never see them again. Sara will be moving to South Africa for over three years. By the time she gets back, we’ll be all grown up and very different. Though knowing that she’s coming back makes things easier, it is still so hard. Dealing with change is probably one of the hardest things to do. It would be so much easier to shut my mind to it an pretend like I don’t care. I do care, however, and ignoring emotions rather than dealing with them is very unhealthy. One thing that I do to deal with change is to talk to God about what’s bothering me, why I am not embracing the change. I even try to thank God for the change... because I know that somehow, someday I will look back on it and see that whatever I didn’t want to happen at the time ended up being the best thing that happened to me. Or it ended up making me a better person anyway.

Another thing I do is talk to other people about it. It is very important to have people in your life who you can talk to about almost anything. I have a few such people in my life like my mom and two really close friends. I am so thankful for these people.

A couple of my favorite verses in the Bible are my favorites because they helped me through some change or other. Whenever I’m having a rough time, I reread those verses or think about them if I have them memorized. One of my favorites in Joshua 1:9 which says: “This is my command: be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” This applies to just about everything in life. No matter what happens, remember to be strong and courageous - God didn’t just “highly recommend” it he commanded it. In whatever you do, wherever you go, remember that he is with you. Jesus is all we need.

Where ARE You God???

     In reality, He's right next to you.  But it's so hard to feel that; something, you can hardly tell He's there at all.  Why can't He always show Himself, why does He feel so distant, so uncaring?  I know that's nowhere near a Sunday school question, but it's certainly an honest one; and I know I'm not the only one asking it.
     Maybe, in connection to that question, you also ask 'what am I doing wrong?' or 'what do I have to do, Lord, to feel Your love again?'.  I do that too.  Thanks be to the Lord that He provides us this answer, in His word, and is just waiting for us to read and obey Him.  In James 4:7-10, it says:

⁷ So give yourselves completely to God. Stand against the devil, and the devil will run from you.⁸ Come near to God, and God will come near to you. You sinners, clean sin out of your lives. You who are trying to follow God and the world at the same time, make your thinking pure.⁹ Be sad, cry, and weep! Change your laughter into crying and your joy into sadness. ¹⁰Humble yourself in the Lord's presence, and he will honor you.

     I don't accept the Message translation as an actual translation of God's Word, but it's helpful to read it beside the Bible passage, so I'll put it here.

^7-10So let God work His will in you. Yell a loud 'no' to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet 'yes' to God and He'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet.

     Why is it so hard to humble ourselves before God?  Perhaps for the same reason it's hard to humble ourselves before anyone - we don't want to give up our pride.  Similarly, we don't let God come near us because we are so intent on hiding but still keeping our sin.  A few months ago, I did a Beth Moore study(Beth Moore: Breaking Free) with my mom, and I think Mrs. Moore phrased these actions really well.  She said that it's as if we're begging God to take away our hurt, our sin, our hate, our guilt, and at the same time, we're holding it behind our back, clutching it to ourself, and refusing to really let God take it.  We don't want to give it up to Him, so the first thing we need to ask Him is to help us 'change our want to'.  

     We relish in our sin because it gives us physical, temporary satisfaction.  Whatever it is: porn, stealing, or even something as seemingly small as lying, we grab ahold of it and don't give it up to God; and He won't force it from us.  To be truly free, we have to be willing to sacrifice temporary pleasures, and then we can find eternal life, love, pleasure, happiness, and freedom in God, in Jesus' sacrifice.  

    In order to have God come to us, we need to go to Him.  That requires 1) giving yourself to God, 2) standing against the devil, 3) cleaning the sin our of your life and making yourself pure for God, with the help of God, because no sin is too great for Him to clean, if you really give it up to Him, 4) crying out to God, mourning for the wrongs you have done, and 5) humbling yourself before God, giving everything up to Him.  

     'God's peace consist[s] of an absolute resignation to His will' (Dr. Petti Wagner, Murdered Heiress... Living Witness, page 154).  When we submit ourself to God and His ultimate, all knowing plan, we will find peace.  And joy.  And every other good thing.  God loves us and wants to be near to us, but how badly do we want to be near to Him?