CHANGE

How many times do we, as humans, resist change in our lives? 

Do you ever get set in your routine and ways, and don’t think that change is necessary?

We are probably the creatures that have the hardest time with change.  As I look around this beautiful world God created, it occurs to me how the Lord made everything to change.

Maybe we can learn some lessons about change by looking at the world around us.

Consider the birds of the air.

Some birds change colors with the various seasons; some birds migrate to different places in order to survive each year.  Their environment is constantly changing, but they adapt in order to survive.

The oceans change too.

Sometimes the waters are calm and serene, while at other times they are rough and full of waves.  At two different times each day, the tide comes in and then goes out.  The oceans serve the purpose God has in mind for them.

Photo credit by Lara under Creative Commons License (CC BY 2.0)

Even the trees experience change in their lives with the different seasons.

In the spring the trees grow new leaves that are green, and in the summer they grow bigger and bigger.  When fall comes, the leaves change such beautiful colors, and then, as the weather cools, they eventually fall off their branches.  In the winter, there are no leaves, but the trees are preparing to start changing again.  The trees bring us a sense of awe and wonder in their change, but they are really fulfilling the laws of nature that God has set in place.

Photo credit by Ted under Creative Commons License (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The skies change many times during a day as well. 

Sometimes there are clouds that bring in rain, sometimes snow.  And, sometimes the sky lacks even the hint of a cloud–it is just crystal clear blue.  Sometimes the sky shows God’s beautiful red sunset.  Again, this is such magnificent beauty, and a plan of nature set in place by God.

The Lord also created our physical bodies to change throughout our lives.

Did you ever stop to think how little you were when you were in your mother’s womb?  Your physical body endured many changes before you made your grand appearance on this earth! And for the next 18 or so years your body grew in leaps and bounds. Maybe you suffered some ailments when you were a child and actually outgrew them as you got older because of the way your physical body changed. Personally, I was thankful when I finished growing as a teen so that my scoliosis did not get any worse. After enduring years of allergy shots, I was blessed to outgrow my allergies. Even as adults, our bodies continue to change. It is all part of God’s plan.

The next time change comes into your life, remember how God made everything in the universe to change–it is a natural part of life. Change can help us grow in ways we never thought possible.

Since the Lord made all these “things” to change in so many ways, how much more must He expect our hearts and spirits to change throughout our lives?

He wants to continually change us—to make us more in His image.

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.  –2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)

He can only do this if we are willing to accept change and to surrender our lives to Him. 

We shouldn’t be so afraid of change since the Lord wouldn’t lead us astray, and He is always with us no matter what!

To be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.  –Ephesians 4:23-24 (NIV)