Change is inevitable. Sometimes it’s fun, like a new job, a new car or a new house. Other times it’s something we dont want to do, but it is thrust into our lap without having a chance to prepare. When we make a deliberate change in our lives, we plan for it, make calculated decisions and prepare so that we are ready when the change occurs.
Unexpected change forces us to make decisions that only an outward force would make us choose.
Are you going through a time of change in your life right now? Is it something exciting or new, or is it something less enjoyable that snuck around the corner and surprised you during a time in your life when you weren’t expecting it?
In the season that I find myself in, there are many questions that still need answers for the next stage of my life. Things are very different this year than I thought they would be. I got to thinking about how we deal with unexpected change in our lives and how we can maneuver the challenges we face when it comes.
Most people do not like change. Even fewer of us like the surprise of unexpected change. Some change is good and can lead us into new adventures that we may never have chosen for ourselves. Other times, the things that happen to us take time and work to process.
Don’t you sometimes wish unexpected change would only happen when you were ready for it?
But that’s the point isn’t it? Unexpected change is by its very definition, unexpected. We don’t have the time we need to prepare, calculate and process before it happens.
I think sometimes that change helps us to see the future better.
I wonder if unexpected change is sometimes God’s way of putting more ‘chess pieces’ on our life board. One at a time, things fall into place. Perhaps these pieces of our lives weren’t things we would have chosen, but occasionally in retrospect, we can see why things happened the way that they did.
For the times when change does not make sense, it does make sense to give it to God.
Trust is something I have thought a lot about lately. Do I really trust God to know what direction to point my future? Do I really believe that He is trustworthy and that He knows what’s best for me and my family? Change has a way of making you much more aware of how you see things.
When things get scary, it helps to remember things you have walked through before and how you made it to this day in your life. Change strengthens your muscles. Those muscles you need to do the heavy lifting when things get hard had to be stronger than they were when you were younger so that you could make it through today.
Think of all of the times that you thought you would struggle to take that big step, to make that tough choice. Realize that God was leading you then, leading you here.
Changing with the newness of it all can sometimes bring us to a place where we feel more alive. We get a chance to be that someone that we might just have lost, dulled by life, and to find forgotten pieces of our soul that we haven’t seen in awhile.
It’s incredible to imagine, but what if the change you are experiencing actually brings you closer to the you that you’ve always dreamed you were meant to be?
This verse has always encouraged me:
“Trust in the Lord with all you heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and he will make straight your paths.”¹
Proverbs 3:5-6
The verse reminds us that we should acknowledge God. It is a good reminder that we can actively become involved during a time of change. God will help us to walk into our future. Whatever is coming around the bend, know that He is always there and He knows what He has planned for your future.
¹Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved
