
Change. It's something that is inevitable and we can't stop it from taking place. We can perhaps put some modifications on it, slow it down or even speed it up sometimes, but we can never really stop it. And it can take many different approaches and cause many different impacts, but if we are smart, we will recognize it and try to put ourselves in the best possible position to face it.
Sometimes it's permanent, as in the case of light and darkness in a twenty-four hour day or earthly human death. At other times, it might be temporary, like the changing seasons which repeat themselves endlessly albeit each slightly different from others in a cycle of earthly life, resembling the movie Groundhog Day. The Fall is special to me for it offers a breath of fresh air here in hot, humid Florida, and it ushers in a six month period of cooler weather as a respite before the next hot spring and summer arrive.
Whether it's temporary or permanent, we can count on change impacting our lives as long as the sun rises and falls each day. Whatever it is and whatever its result, we can count on it as a continuous fact of life and must use it as a learning point in guiding us through the mysteries of life itself.
I thought about change this weekend as I was resting, letting a nasty stomach flu bug work its way through my system and yesterday I just didn't feel up to writing my weekly Sunday Morning Coming Down, so I decided to change my publication to today and here it is. While lying on a lounge chair and feeling rather miserable, I thought to myself about the what ifs, like what if I have something really serious or what if it was something that could change my life in I way that I thought would devastate me. But, fortunately, I'm feeling better and will be back to one hundred percent very soon. And the situation made me ashamed as I think of those who are downtrodden and deathly ill and they are expected to bear their burden with the change they face as well.
And that brings me to the point of all of this. God wants us to change. He wants us to know that He loves us, sometimes tests us, and gives us the greatest gift ever if only we listen to Him and believe in His Son, Jesus Christ as our Savior. For the best of us must change since we are all sinners and the only way we can accept His gift of eterrnal life is through following through on what we claim is our belief and in do all we can to live in His image. This means we must be spiritually reborn in Jesus Christ. That's change that not only we can believe in, but change that we can live with forever.
Dear Lord, We thank you for the most gracious blessings which you give us and we ask that you help us manage our way through the change that is part of life. Help us use it for the best, for your wishes, and live with it in a way that honors you and shows our devotion to you through our belief in the Son. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.