You are custom-built for change. Created with a capacity to adjust, move, and be different. Nothing remains as constant as change. Even the most precious of all gems needs to be chiseled and faceted to achieve its best luster. Don’t end up like concrete—all mixed together and permanently set.
In 1803, the British created a civil service position that required a man to stand on the cliffs of Dover with a spyglass. His duty was to be a lookout against invasion. He was to ring a bell if he saw Napoleon Bonaparte’s armies approaching. This job was appropriate at the time, but it wasn’t eliminated until 1945! How many “spyglasses on the cliffs of Dover” are we still holding on to in our lives? We shouldn’t let the way we are accustomed to doing things interfere with the opportunities God is providing for us today.
When the Lord directs us to change, perhaps we may continue to reach toward the same goal but in a slightly different way. When we refuse to cooperate with the change God requires of us, we make chains of delay that constrain and restrict us.
An inanimate object like an article of clothing doesn’t have the ability to truly change; it grows out of style and becomes unusable. But any one of us is able to change at any point in time, at any age. Changing doesn’t always mean doing the opposite. In fact, most of the time it means adding to or slightly adjusting what already exists.
Here are three things we know about the future: First, it isn’t going to be like the past. Second, it isn’t going to be exactly the way we think it’s going to be. Third, the rate of change will take place faster than we anticipate. The Bible indicates that in the end times—in which we are now living, I believe—changes will occur more quickly than ever before in history.
In Isaiah the Lord declares: “Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them” (42:9 NKJV). The Bible is a book that tells us how to respond to change ahead of time. You see, I believe we can decide in advance how we will respond to most situations. This is a great way to manage and take advantage of changes.
When I was coaching basketball many years ago, I told my players that they could prepare for many situations ahead of time. We used to practice as many gamelike situations as we could so we would already know how to respond when we found ourselves in the actual situations. This one idea helped our teams to be very successful.
One of the main reasons the Bible was written was to prepare us ahead of time, to teach us how to respond in advance to many of the situations we would encounter in life.
Choose to flow with God’s plan. Be sensitive to the new things He is doing. Stay flexible to the Holy Spirit, and know that our God directs, adjusts, moves, and corrects us. He is always working to bring us into perfection.