Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.(Proverbs 3:5)
You’ve heard it said that “Nobody likes change except a wet baby!” That certainly is true of me; I’m not that crazy about change. I tend to like routine and living within the walls of my comfort zone. But just when I am settling happily into the “same-old, same-old,” Jesus shows up with a little change He knows I need . . . and that brings me to our verse today.
Every disciple of Jesus must learn the discipline of change. Our God is unchanging (Malachi 3:6), but He constantly introduces change into our lives. We settle on a particular direction, and God steps in and changes it. We start to pursue a certain goal, and God steps in and changes it. We begin a new project in life and God steps in and changes it. The key to growing and maturing in our faith is not getting frustrated every time God sends us a bit of change. Rather, we are to echo Jesus and say, “Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do” (Matthew 11:26).
One of the most important life lessons we can learn is how often God takes us down the path of obedience before understanding. Noah had no understanding of the flood waters that were on the horizon, but he committed to a 100-year boat-building project, acting in obedience before understanding. Abraham had no understanding of where He was going when God called him to leave the home of his fathers, but he walked in obedience before understanding. Moses was adamantly opposed to going back into Egypt as God’s deliverer of His people, but he went in obedience before understanding.
When you think about it, much of life is simply lived in the dark. But this should not surprise us or shake our confidence in the One who is leading us every step of the way. We can face and accept change because we know it comes from the hand of our changeless God, who is working all things for the ultimate good of those who have placed their trust in His Son. When you look back on every change God has brought you through, are you not now thankful? We must remember that God changes us because He loves us. He is conforming us into the image of His Son, and that requires significant change!
Here is a word that can help you along the way as God sends you seasons of cosmic change:
It is not for you to know . . . (Acts 1:7)
We won’t always understand what God is up to in our lives and much of it won’t fit into our plans, but to know our changeless God intimately and personally is to know enough about the inevitable change that will come to all of us.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 