We are now coming to week 14 of the lock down. Lots of things, in so many ways have changed. However, I think more than anything, I have changed.
American Pastor Rick Warren said, “There is no growth without change, no change without fear or loss and no loss without pain”.
Change implies leaving familiar ways behind and stepping out into new, uncharted depths. This definitely doesn’t sound safe, but God is in the change business and His plan requires you and I to change. This current pandemic has given us an opportunity for change…whether we like it or not.
If you think about it, change is the one constant in our lives. Seismic changes politically, socially, financially in recent days mean that our way of life will now need to evolve. I would suggest that such changes, even though not our making, present us with an opportunity to embrace change in a positive way.
Although in His being God never changes, He is, however, constantly creating, transforming, renovating, renewing, reviving and changing things.
Mat 18:3, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
“Unless you change” - what an interesting phrase Jesus chooses.
I think the reason that most people don’t change is that they don’t really want to….or at least, the idea of change is just too much effort.
I once bought an old Lada for £75….those of you who remember the old Lada cars know that they were…..just rubbish. The steering wheel was as big as an old dust bin lid. I was 18/19 years old and because it was my first car it felt like a Ferrari to me.
In the summer of 1986 the gear box jammed and for the entire summer I could only drive in second gear. Not a problem….everywhere I went was at a top speed of twenty miles per hour. Everyone could hear me arriving because of the sound of a straining engine and high revs were deafening. The car was screaming for third gear…but alas, I could not make the change…. .Actually, after a while I just got used the noise and the slow journeys until eventually my beloved Lada car, my gave up the ghost and died with 152,000 miles on the clock and very very burned out gear box.
When you reach a certain speed in a specific gear, it is important to make the transition to a different gear. If you do, you gain a new momentum.
(Mat 18:3)…Unless we change we may miss the part are meant to play in the building of the Kingdom of God in the coming season.
This current pandemic has brought about change and how we, the church (you and I) respond to it, is really critical.
John F. Kennedy Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.
Change is a process that is both exciting and difficult, and resistance to it is natural. Let me offer a helpful insight into how to prepare yourself for change readiness.
Change readiness is what takes place before the actual change. It’s preparation of heart, mind and spirit.
Change readiness is an attitude that is:
· Open and receptive to new ideas.
· Excited rather than anxious about change
· Challenged, not threatened by change
· Committed to change as an ongoing process
· Challenges the status quo
Perhaps it’s time to consider a gear change.
Every Blessing
Steve