Each one of us can understand the feeling of change. The resistance, the pain, the excitement, the joy. Some fear it and shy away from it. Some embrace it for the sake of adventure. For the rest of us, change is like starting a new series of books. You start reading the first book trying to understand the setting and details of the characters, but at the same time your mind keeps bringing up this thought, “Either I’m going to love this story or this is going to be a big waste of time.” No matter how many recommendations from others you’ve received or reviews you’ve read, you won’t fully know if you love the story until you’ve read the words, “The End.”
That’s what’s nice about books. They have an end. They have a physical end that you can pick up and have a complete understanding about. It’s really not that complicated. Life, however, is different. Each year, week, day and moment is messy, complicated and completely unpredictable. You can’t even look ahead to the end like some do with a book (I personally think that takes the fun out of it!). Maybe you’re like me and wish that your life was simple and uncomplicated with little change. Just enough for adventure, but not enough to be painful.
Well, unfortunately, this isn’t what life brings.
What is that one thing that makes a lump form in your throat the minute someone asks the right/wrong question? Is it that horrible disease, financial debt, relational issue/status, sin struggle, life-changing decision or even that overwhelming theological question that you just can’t muster up the courage to ask? How can you possibly describe what you are going through or can you avoid the question altogether?
The moment that Adam and Eve fell, man was separated from God by a deep barrier of darkness filled with spiritual and physical thorns, suffocating mires and depressing loneliness. No good deed or standing could ever be our advocate. We needed a perfect and holy sacrifice. Jesus was that sacrifice and our propitiation for our sin. At the very moment we confess our sin, ask forgiveness and accept Jesus as our personal Savior, change happens. And that change is gloriously painful. The most painful thing we will ever experience now is our time here on earth. Our spiritual bodies are now secured alone in Christ, but our physical ones still need to die in order to be with the Lord. So, what does that mean? It means we still have to live with ourselves and now our spiritual and physical bodies don’t agree. Sanctification doesn’t look all that great to us because it also means pain. However, sanctification is a sweet smelling savor to our Father; making us holy, making us essentially more like His Son, Jesus. At the end of it all, we eternally get to be with our Lord and Savior. The One who created us loved us died for us and was raised is now interceding for us at the throne of God where we will one day be with Him forever. That’s the good news. The end of change is a perfect relationship with God. He is a good and gracious God.
So, what if your circumstances change for the better (in your opinion)? Would that change you? Let’s not try to put a, “Well, what if God is trying to do such and such” kind of statement on this. What if you thought you were doing what God wanted you to do and then your plans changed? Are you out of God’s will now?
Do we really think that we have the control to change the perfect will of God? Do we really have to understand every little detail of our lives? Why do we think we have to control everything or ask God to fit into our god-like box that we can understand. His ways are perfect and always for our good. A friend once asked me, “Sarah, if you had the choice, would you rather struggle and have God or would you rather never struggle and not have God?”
Whatever the circumstance, whatever the hurt, whatever the trial, joy or pain, God has a purpose. If He wills it, He will do it, and if not, He is still good.
Beyond the Road Less Traveled 