Ch-ch-changes

Change.

Let’s face it…this is a concept that’s not always welcomed. Due to recent political slogans and intense global debates, this word has either been overused and under-executed or vice versa…but I’m not going to start anything on here concerning government or politics…

On a personal scale, the word ‘change’ can hold many different meanings for a person depending on their situation, but the truth is, it’s always going to leave a lasting impression on that individual no matter their circumstances.

Change can be brought about for a variety of reasons in any environment. For some, change is unexpected and the individual has no control over the occurrence, such as a death in the family, freak accident etc. In these situations, the change is not welcomed but the key here is learning to adapt and incorporate the change into one’s life.

Sometimes change is thrust upon us by others in our lives. This could be our parents prodding us into a college, our spouse attempting to persuade us to buy that rental property and become a landlord, or our sister insisting that you look like a ‘freaking model’ in that extremely over-priced dress and you should therefore buy it. This kind of change does not always leave a positive impact, but at least in these situations there is a sense of control over the change because after all, we were the ones that made the decision to attend that college or purchase that dress.

The final type of change that I’ve been mulling over lately is the change that is sought after. Some examples of sought-after change can be one making their girlfriend/boyfriend their fiancé, one making the decision to change their appearance (weight, looks, clothes etc.), or even one deciding to move to a new city.

For some people, change is a hard lump to swallow (especially when it’s the spontaneous kind); expected change can even be difficult to incorporate when it’s met with anxious feelings and uncertainty about what’s to come. For me, I’ve sought after a particular change with a burning desire for quite some time.

The sad part of this story is that I prayed for the change to happen and halfheartedly expected God to bring the results about.

A few weeks ago in church, the pastor preached a message on prayer that essentially spoke to me about the change that I specifically desired but was not expecting to see, (after a long period of getting my hopes up and seeing them fizzle out, I was discouraged my change would never come about…to say the least). In his message he remarked that so often Christians pray for a specific request yet lack the faith that God will bring about results; I was struck with conviction, sitting there in my pew, realizing that I was not confident that the God of the universe would bring about the change that I so desperately desired.

After this message I got to thinking about the expectations that one should have when they pray but rarely seem to. In the movie “Facing the Giants” the coach of the football team talks to his players about preparing for metaphorical rain after the prayers have been sent up for it, and in the film they are greatly blessed by their preparations.

So with the Sunday sermon and the lesson from a cinematic dialogue in mind, I sought to do just that…I prepared for rain. Hesitantly at first, but gradually I became enthusiastic.

My burning desire for change quickly became my passionate prayer for God to reveal a part of his plan for my life. Either way I knew that change would come, and I wanted to be on board for whatever came my way!

The awesome part here is, I began one week with preparations for rain and had the confident thought, this week, I’ll hear back from God…and you know what?

I did.

The lesson that God was teaching me for the past year was sharply driven home; this lesson was compiled with exuberant joy and gratitude, yet tinged with a degree of guilt. I knew that I should’ve had greater expectations that God would bring about His work in my life on HIS timetable instead of the other way around. In the midst of my hindsight though, I still find it an extraordinary blessing to have seen God bring about a ‘change’ in my life, and even though the hardships have been there, I know that the in the midst of them, God was working on me.

Teaching me.

Reminding me.

Loving me.

~~~~~~~~

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

^{Jeremiah 29:11-13}

~~~~~~~~