“To everything there is a season,A time for every purpose under heaven.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1
In the past, I was not a big fan of change. In fact, I much prefered a “boring” life. My flesh is most comfortable when I know what I am doing, how I am to do it, and when I am to do it. I love lists and being able to mark off each accomplishment. When I wake up in the morning, I enjoy knowing what my day holds, what tasks need my attention, and to have everything running like a well oiled machine (as my grandmother used to say). Any deviation from my plan is disturbing to me and I find myself feeling anxious and unsettled. I resist change and I diligently work to return my life to “normal.”
Several months ago, God began to open the door to many adjustments in my life. Now, I must say that nothing earth-shattering is happening. The changes are really quite simple but they are changes none-the-less. God has and is continuing to allow every area of my life to experience some sort of shift. Needless to say, this is difficult for me. I have felt myself begin to panic and I have tried to grab hold of those things in hopes of preventing further modification. I must say that once again, I am learning that I am not in control! God is! God is continually at work and HE is graciously teaching me that change is one way that HE is molding and shaping me. To resist the work of His hand is rebellion so my heart's desire is to see the change that God allows in my life as a blessing tailor-made for me.
“Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God!” (Isaiah 44:6).
Before I write another word, I must confess that this devotion is not derived through my wisdom but rather it is an accumulation of truths that I have received over the past several months from some godly women who have surrounded me, prayed with and for me, encouraged me, held me accountable, and spoken truth to me. I would gladly offer their names; however, I know they would not be pleased. They would tell you that they only spoke what God laid upon their hearts. God has also used our pastor’s sermons to speak directly to my troubled heart. Pastor JD spoke on this very topic in his sermon on March 20th. The Lord really used Pastor JD’s emphasis on “You can respond with joy when (by faith) you see the purpose of the trials…Trials help meet a desperate need.”
In our ladies’ Sunday school class we have been learning that God meets all our needs…Even those needs we do not realize we have. As soon as Pastor JD began to expand upon his point, it was as if the Lord exposed yet another layer of sin in my heart and allowed me to see the work of His hand! WOW! I am able to understand that God is using this season of change in my life to sift me, transform me, mold me, release me from past bondage, and to free me. My heart can hardly contain the joy that rushes over me when I think that the God of all the universe is actively pruning me so that I can bear much fruit.
My Friend, do you realize that God is doing the same thing in your life? Now certainly, our circumstances may be different but God is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Allow me to encourage you with some of the same wisdom I have received recently.
• Do not resist the work of God in your life. God loves you with an everlasting love and HE has a divine purpose for each situation in your life. “Cast your burden on the LORD, And HE shall sustain you; HE shall never permit the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22).
• Do not allow yourself to believe that God does not care about you or that HE has forgotten you. God cannot and will not forget His own! “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me” (Isaiah 49:16). “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For HE Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
• Trust God’s promises. “For You are my rock and my fortress; Therefore, for Your name’s sake, Lead me and guide me” (Psalm 31:3). God promises us that HE alone is our firm foundation. No matter what is happening in our lives, HE is the rock that will never be moved! HE will never crumble, tremble, shake, or collapse. And when we are rooted and established in Him, we are secure.
• Seek the Lord in the midst of your trial. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:11-13). God is using this trial to teach you more about Himself as well as to shave away those things that are hindering you from being more like Him.
• Change and/or trials are wonderful opportunities for us to draw close to the Lord and to experience Him in a whole new way. Do not fear the work that God is doing in your life. His work will produce a more intimate relationship with Him. “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” (Psalm 34:8).
God uses change in our lives to grow us spiritually and to equip us for the calling that HE has placed upon our lives. We can rest in the knowledge that “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom HE foreknew, HE also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that HE might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:28-29).
