Change and Trust

The other day...I soaked up a little sunshine on the bike path. With my headphones tuned into Christian radio...I rode along the river. Far and away where I feel closest to God in the city. On more than one occasion I have hit the concrete with something unsettled...some days it is even undefined...and yet I always ride back...with answers...often not having to ask the exact questions.

With the bike path before me...it was one of those unsettling mornings. Someone has entered my life that could potentially bring unexpected change...significant change. "Change"...there's that word again. It seems just when the shoes get comfortable...we're ask to try on another pair. Change can be exciting...but change by definition leads to the unknown. And in the realm of the unknown...we are no longer in control.

My mind raced faster than I could pedal...I pulled over...climbed the bank...and watched the river flow by. No sooner had I gotten sat down when a wave of tears rushed over me. Where was this onslaught coming from?

Change

There are obvious reasons to be upset over what this change may entail...but those weren't plaguing that morning. I had been riding on the waves of excitement. What was it then? What was I afraid of?

I have recently gotten comfortable in my calling to this ministry. It makes sense...it fits...I've started seeing results and receiving blessing. But as I sat on the banks of change I realized it isn't leaving "comfortable" that was troubling me...no...it was the fear of misjudging God's will. I was always the daughter who when learning to drive the tractor wanted dad to remain in the buddy seat round after round, ensuring I was getting it right. Sometimes I wish God was as obvious in giving instruction from the buddy seat..."turn right here, make this adjustment, watch me." Instead...He gives us prayer, discernment and guidance from the Holy Spirit...which have always proven more than sufficient...but requires much trust through the change.

I watched the steady flow of the river...the unchanging nature of it all. Sure the water will rise and fall but it steadily continues to flow.

From my daily devotion..."For the believer, then, the question is vital: Is our God the Lord of change? Will he be with us in change, especially when it strains our trust to its limit? Ironically, while we trust him with our eternal fate, we may find it difficult to trust him for next month's car payment, a new relationship, or an unexpected turn in our lives. The assumption that the Almighty is unacquainted with the complex people he has made keeps us hanging onto bits and pieces of our lives, deceived by Satan's ancient lie that God does not want the best for us.

In a threatened world, in the kaleidoscopic whirl of our life patterns, it can be enormously reassuring to remind ourselves that God is unchanging: "I the Lord do not change" (Malachi 3:6). "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8)." (Change and Trust, Gini Andrews)

God isn't unexpectedly changing the plans He has for my life. Instead he's revealing the plans He has had all along.