I didn’t want to do it but, when I started to settle into my comfortable warm couch, a whisper from somewhere said, “What if this is the last one?” Meaning, maybe tomorrow might not come for me. I didn’t feel morbid, just aware that in the blink of an eye sometimes, everything as we know it can change. That thought took me out to the deck and the cool fresh air, the brightening sky. Where I could hear the thrills, the chirps, the drumming, the coos, even the turkey gobbles. A morning feast of sights and sounds. I meet with God in the morning.

Mornings are a gift that God keeps giving. The sun keeps coming up, even when we may feel knocked down and have trouble getting up to witness it. Even when we feel really settled where we are and desire to stay there. Why do things have to change anyway? And why do we have so much stress related to it. Can’t some things just stay the same?

Things can change because the One who holds it all together never does. “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 is a promise you can firmly stand on.  We can deal with change because we have a God that created a dynamic universe and He never changes. He is the true Force that makes and sustains all life. And we have to keep changing and growing in His direction or else.

“Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

There’s this church sign in Belpre, Ohio, that says “Where growth stops, decay begins.” Summer brings with it some glorious aromas, but decaying roadkill is not one of them. Decay has a stench that is just intolerable to the living. Every cell in our bodies has to renew itself, slough off the dead and make way for new life. There is nothing more positive than accepting the truth that we can keep growing towards the best version of ourselves. And that the best version is the one that chooses to attach closely to the Creator through a relationship with Jesus. This is truly what is the best for us and brings the most glory to God.

“Where growth stops, decay begins.”

How do we do it? How do we keep not merely tolerating change, but embracing it? This may look differently for you than me, but I attach myself to my dynamic Creator by taking the time and making the effort to. There is nothing wrong with it, but “5 minutes with Jesus” just doesn’t cut it for me. It takes time to read His Word, The Bible, it takes time to pray with focus, it takes time to worship and wait on Him. It just takes time. Think of it as an exfoliating session for your soul. When you emerge from it, you walk in newness. And I can’t even begin to tell you how taking that time will be rewarded in many other ways.

The struggles that would have knocked you down and kept you there for the count, don’t have the same effect on you anymore, because Jesus shares the punch. That change in your life, that you never thought you would be able to face, you’re facing it, and oh, so bravely. That new process you have to learn for work; the new definition of family that you didn’t ask for. The diagnosis that threatens to define you as someone less than you used to be. Those aging signs that remind you of the years you’ve journeyed here. Changes can chase us down, but they don’t have to defeat us.

How do we keep handling the changes? By reminding ourselves of the truth that if everything we know and think we have to have to be happy gets taken from us, Jesus will always be with us. He will never leave us or forsake us. Just before the Hebrews 13:8 truth, we read in Hebrews 13:5, “…I will never leave you or forsake you.” That, in itself, will be enough. Because He is enough. And He never changes.

Hebrews 13:5, “…I will never leave you or forsake you.”

Heavenly Father, I know that today will bring about some changes that I may not want to welcome because I just don’t want the stress of them. Cause me to remember that You took on flesh and You know how unwelcome change feels and You will walk with me through mine. I am not alone, and even though I have changeable moods that affect how I handle things, You are always the same. You can always be trusted to be just what I need, when and where I need it. Even if You are all I have, I will have all I need. For the glory of Your Name, Amen