Trust God and Embrace Change

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What’s your attitude towards change?

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t like change. And as I have grown older, I dislike it even more.

New Phone

So take for instance my phone. Last month, when I realized that I could re-contract my data plan and get a new phone at $145, I bit the bullet.

There was nothing wrong with the old phone per se except that it had a very weak wifi signal, and when I am driving and need to tap into Google Maps I can’t. Which is an issue if one has a bad sense of direction like I have.

I was willing to live with it – after all, I grew up without Google Maps. I am sure I could figure something out. But since I could get a phone for less than $150, I took it.

But, I did not realise that transferring everything from the old phone to the new wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. Don’t laugh but it took me about a week to figure it out. Certain things had to be re-setup. Certain things disappeared. Certain things were deleted for good! Arrrggghhh!!!!

Change

No, I do not like change.

And I have realized that the older (and more tired I get), the less I like change. I guess this is why people stay in a job they hate or in a relationship that is toxic.

Most of us don’t like change. Even when something or someone bothers us, we tend to go along with the status quo because the pain of changing is often greater than the pain of tolerating it.

The Story of A Dog and A Nail

It reminds me of a story I heard on a podcast many years ago which left an impression on me because it is so true.

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A man jogs around his estate one evening. Every time he runs past his neighbour’s house, he would see his neighbour’s dog lying next to him on the porch whining loudly away. His neighbour was on his chair reading his newspaper. By his third round, he got too curious and stopped. He raised his voice and asked his neighbour what was the matter with his dog.  

His neighbour replied calmly, “Oh he’s just whining coz he’s lying on a nail and it hurts.”

“So why doesn’t he just get up and move to another spot?” he asked.

“Oh, that is because the pain of getting off is greater than the pain of living with it,” the neighbour explained.

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There you go. The pain of change (getting up and moving away) was greater than the pain of the current situation (enduring the pain).

Change is Inevitable

But… Change is one of the constants in life. Besides death. And taxes. 🙂

Change is to be expected. Life never stays the same. But that doesn’t mean I like it. And that is not good. It shows a certain lack of resilience in my character and a certain laziness.

Doing things the way it has always been done means I don’t have to think. Muscle memory kicks in for the physical stuff. Habits take over for the mental ones.

I don’t want to think. And deep down I guess I am also afraid of change. Change forces me to think differently. It also forces me to act differently from what I am used to. And my ability to do so or not reveals my weaknesses. So, since I don’t like to be confronted with my weaknesses, I abhor change. I resist change.

Change Makes Us Stronger

But without change, we cannot grow. How can we grow stronger if keep lifting the same 5kg weight?

Bringing it over to our spiritual lives: how can our intimacy with God increase if we keep praying the same prayer in the same way? Sure, consistency is great. But you do realise that after a while, it becomes rote praying, right? Like saying grace before meals. Or goodnight prayers with the children.

Embrace Change

Yes, change is scary. Think back to your first day of school, your first day of work. But to grow, we need to be stretched. We need to learn new things.

What should our attitude towards change be? We need to embrace it. Don’t be afraid of change.

But how?

There is One Who Never Changes

While it is true that we shouldn’t fix what isn’t broken, when one is led to change, we need not be afraid of it. Instead, we can embrace change. And we can do this when we fully trust God and who He says He is as He leads us through it.

Change is inevitable on this earth. But there is One who never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Because He is the same* we do not need to fear change and what it brings. Instead, we can lean in and cling on to Him tightly so that we can surf through the changes life brings and emerge stronger. And perhaps even enjoy it!

Trust Him

Are you in a season of change and uncertainty? Are you resistant to change because of the fear of the unknown? Or perhaps you are resistant to it because you know the work ahead of you is not easy?

May I encourage you to look to God for assurance that He is with you and there is nothing to fear, either of the unknown or of the work ahead. Go to Him and seek His face and His help.

He Goes Before Us

When He changes things up, sends us somewhere different, gives us a different assignment, He will go before us and watch our backs. Take heart from what Moses told Joshua as he prepared to take the people into the Promised Land without Moses by his side, to a place which is very different from the wilderness, with different enemies to fight.

Yes, change is uncomfortable. But since it is inevitable this side of Heaven, let us have a better attitude towards it. Let us trust the One who goes before us and leads us. If it is a change He is leading us to, we can trust Him to lead us where He deems fit for us to go. If it is a change that is the result of our poor decisions and choices, we can repent and trust that He will forgive us our sins and still lead us through it.

Embrace change even as we serve a God who never changes.

* While His nature never changes, our relationship with God must change. While He is the same, how we relate to Him changes as we grow and allow Him to mould us more and more like Jesus. Our relationship with Him must never remain the same.

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