But, I Don’t Like Change!

What is it about change that makes us uneasy? Why do we often prefer that things would not change? Indeed, there is something about sameness that is rather appealing to us, but why? These kinds of questions demand hard thinking. After all, pursuing answers to questions such as these just may reveal that change (there, I said it!) is necessary. The past year has been marked by significant changes in my own life, and these changes have given me reason to pause and consider what the Lord would have me learn from them. As followers of Jesus, we need not fear change, whether great or small. I will give two reasons why we fear change and then explain why these fears need not be a part of the Christian’s life.

First, we fear change because we are comfortable with our routine. Surely, you’ve heard it said, “We’re creatures of habit!” When change is introduced to our daily activity we sometimes grow anxious because our routine has been disrupted. Second, we fear change because we fear failure, and we adamantly resist change because we fear that our weaknesses may be exposed through our failures.

Change is inevitable for every person, but followers of Christ have a sure and steady hope in the midst of change. We need not fear changes in our routine because we serve the sovereign God who has ordained the time of our birth, our death, and every passing moment between (Ps 139:16; Eph 1:11). Furthermore, as followers of Jesus, the Good Shepherd (John 10:12,14), we rest in our beloved Savior, believing that the changes that we experience are working for our good (Rom 8:28-30). This means that every detail of our life passes before the loving gaze of our gracious, heavenly Father who has ordained the end from the beginning and who loves us with an unfailing love (Isa 46:8-11; John 3:16). We need not fear change for fear of failure because we serve the risen Messiah who has redeemed us from a life of failure. The truth be told, each of us has failed in the most grievous way by failing to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. The Scripture calls this failure sin. But God, in His matchless mercy, sent His only Son to bear the punishment for our failure – our sin (Isa 53:5; 2 Cor 5:21). As followers of Jesus we live day-by-day in the glorious reality that we’ve been forgiven our greatest failure and have been granted the supreme privilege of being called children of God (John 1:12; Rom 8:16). Consequently, every subsequent failure pales in comparison and directs us back to our blessed hope, Jesus. May our hearts and minds be continually strengthened in Christ as we face change.

Blake Gerber
Discipleship Minister