ENDURE THE CHANGE

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

You can endure change by pondering His permanence.

Survive rejection by meditating on His acceptance. - Lucado

Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground…

Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ – that’s where the action is. - Colossians 3:2 (MSG)

Change.

I am not a fan.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not so tied to traditions and routine that I don’t adapt or enjoy experiencing new things.  I will be the first to venture in to a new diner or scout out a new bakery when I am on the road. I mean I woke up this morning to a “new look”, a change, in my OS on my computer that somehow happened magically overnight and I didn’t freak.

Yet big changes due tend to cause some nail-biting and a little stomach churning.  I don’t think I am unique in that.  All of us like stability and the norm.  I love nothing more than “the routine” of our little dachshund when I come home. He jumps once and then rolls on his back for his belly rubbing greeting. 

A routine like that never gets stale.

But the truth of the matter as much as we like for things to remain “normal” and stable, our world is anything but stable or normal most days.  Things can and do turn on a dime.  What we thought was a sure thing or a long-term solution sometimes isn’t and we must adapt, endure and “change with the change”.

That is why I like the little wisdom from Lucado this morning.

He implicitly reminds is that change is inevitable, but GOD is immovable.  He implicitly reminds us that even in the face of seeming rejection, GOD never leaves, never FORSAKES and always accepts!  (Deuteronomy 31:6)

I am facing some “more change” in my life right now.

Since I emerged from addiction in 2008, things have never STOPPED changing and evolving.  GOD keeps “altering the action”.  

Just when I think things will be stable for a second, the game changes.

It is uncomfortable and occasionally disconcerting.

But without fail, with each change GOD has grown me and stretched me; He has blessed me and intersected me.  

So there is no reason to believe that won’t continue. 

But the process of settling into the next season is ANYTHING BUT.

That is why Max’s words resonate today.

I can endure this latest change because of GOD’s PERMANENCE. 

(I the LORD do not change – Malachi 3:6 NIV)

And if He is not changing and has proven faithful through the myriad of changes since 2008, then I can trust Him that these latest changes are NECESSARY for what is NEXT for me; that there is something to be learned and relationships to be made.

For in spite of all the changes in venue, all of the amazing start-ups and hand offs, GOD has never once made a change that has deterred me from ‘the call’ He pressed on me in ’08, the call to seek and serve the addicted.

So no "shuffling" for me today.  

In fact, I have been invited to Cincinnati today to become part of a new group of leaders with their eyes and hearts on Christ.

Sounds like some “good action”.  We will see where it goes…

What about you?

Going through some changes that have you unsettled?

Are you feeling a little unstable?  Pressured?

Remember GOD’s PERMANENCE and faithfulness

(2 Timothy 2:13)

Remember even when you FEEL or have been REJECTED, you aren’t.

(Jeremiah 31:3)

GOD is waiting to LIFT YOUR HEAD and EYES to HIM

(Psalm 3:3)

Focus your attention on Him and not the change.  

Trust Him that the change has purpose, that He can be trusted and embrace the action!

Really, there was only one sensible thing to do.

Stay the course. Pray it through, day by day, minute by minute. The Lord has an answer and it (WILL) surely come. - Hanna

I love you all…

Opportunities for Hope (Champions Charge)