Embracing Change

I love Autumn and I am embracing the change.  It is the time inbetween the end of summer and colder bleak end of fall.  My flowers still look lovely and the cooler nights are better for sleeping. It is the end of the long days of summer, the harvest is in full swing and we all begin a new season. You can feel the change in the air.  Even though I don’t have children that are going back to school except my adult children who are teachers! My calendar begins anew with all the programs that took the summer off.

Genesis 1:14   And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years,

Ecclesiastes 3:11  He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

 

Some people will embrace this change of season while others will grumble about the cold, the dark, the work etc..  God created it all for our good pleasure. We can change our perspective from woe is me to wow and wonder. I see God’s hand in every season. Do you?  Studies show that having something to look forward to increases motivation, optimism and patience and decreases irritability.

Other types of change can be more difficult to embrace.  Changes in finances, health, location or vocation make us feel unsettled and fearful.  No matter what type of change or challenge you are facing remember that Our God is in control.  Here are a few verses I memorized as a young child that have stayed with me and encouraged me through many difficult circumstances.  I don’t have all the answers but I know Who does.

 

Proverbs 3:5–6    Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Psalm 119:105   Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

We need to keep God in focus.  He is bigger than any questions we ask or problems we face.  Change is part of being human but knowing that God never changes should give us peace of heart and mind.  He is eternal yet very present.  He is all knowing and all powerful but grants us free will. If you are facing a difficult season in life you can embrace the changes with confidence and strength knowing He holds the future.

Joshua was told by God to take up the commission given to Moses to fight and claim the Promised Land for His people.  That must have felt like shoes too big to fill!  But God told Joshua that he had everything he needed to be successful by following God’s way and trusting in His presence and provision.

Joshua 1:8–9    This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”