People approach change with different perspectives; for some, it is pure excitement. For others, they dread change and can even become fearful with the unfamiliar.
I would say, for the most part, I am probably in the second group; contented and happy with the familiar. If something is working; if it makes me happy, why make a change, right?
I am not against change; I just don’t go looking for it. I understand change is often a necessity in order to experience something better; something that will cause personal growth. Even when I know change can be beneficial, I can still feel uncomfortable, insecure.
Change will most likely always push me beyond myself, which is not a bad thing. It is in those circumstances that I am most likely to be looking for God’s involvement in my life.
Every change I have ever faced has presented me the opportunity to make a choice; I can resist or I can step into the change with great expectation.
Jeremiah 29:11 has given me the courage to let go of my familiar to step in to that place in order to experience God’s best: “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
My husband and I and our two daughters were happily living the suburbia life in a beautiful city with beaches and almost perfect weather. We both had good jobs; we were surrounded by friends and family. Life was good. We were rooted; we thought we would be in this place forever.
One day, without warning, everything changed. The company my husband worked for, had hit a financial crisis and needed to downsize. In the beginning, our self-confidence was strong; we weren’t crazy about a change in jobs, but we would manage.
What we thought would be a few months, however, proved to be two years; two very long, hard years. We found our self-confidence waning. We knew God had a plan for our family; although, at times it felt as though we would lose the battle against worry, depression, and loss.
In the darkest of days, God knew what we needed, and when we needed it. We saw His provision through friends, family, and His Word pouring support and hope into our broken world.
Yes, it was painful; loss is never comfortable. However, those two years in our desert proved to be rich and life giving. We learned so much about ourselves, as well as having the opportunity to see God work in ways that made a lasting impression in each of us. We were reminded many times through the journey that His ways are not our ways.
God had a plan for us individually and as a family that was better; it was the best! He needed to get our attention to be positioned to accept His best. Discomfort is always an attention getter.
It took God uprooting us and moving us to another state, another city, to experience His plans and goodness that He had prepared for us. We made the experience more difficult by holding on tightly to what we had instead of letting go and trusting God for His good.
It was six months after relocating before my husband found employment. However, after thirty plus years, he is still working at a job that has been very rewarding to him. He is well respected and distinguished in his area of expertise. I too have been blessed with employment that is rewarding and life giving. Each of our girls met and married godly men and have blessed us with five grandchildren and two great grandchildren. We have been blessed beyond our imagination.
The move that we dreaded, turned out to be the best thing for our family and for us, individually.
What do you need to release in your present to be in position to embrace God’s best?
