Dealing with Change

“There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven…” (rf. Eccl. 3:1).

            For so many people, the word, “change”, seems to be a word of profanity, the proverbial “four-letter word”. This appears especially true for those moving up in age and for those involved in the Christian church. Imagine then how we begin to feel about the prospect of change if we are church-going, aging adults! We long for a supposed time, day and place wherein everything always remains constant, where things and people are never anything but dependable, and the days follow each other in monotonous succession with invariable sameness. A number who read these words might say that this would be their idea of “heaven on earth”.

            However, according to the Scriptures, especially as we consider the very passage that continues from Solomon’s words here in chapter three of Ecclesiastes, we must be reminded of an eternal truth found in our temporal reality—change happens! Indeed, change is part and parcel of our human existence. It is inherently woven in the warp and woof of our lives, so to speak. We cannot nor ever will not escape the prospect of change. Solomon in this text declares that “there is a time for every event under heaven” and that these “event(s)” bring the very changes that we speak of, as in birth, death, wars, peacetime, grief and sadness, joy and happiness, etc. Thankfully, in the Providence of God, there is a never a dull moment in human life because He both allows and brings change into our lives to draw us closer to Him and to instill greater and deeper faith and growth in our understanding of His character and the truth of His Word.

            Therefore, we should not nor ever fear change. We should, rather, be flexible, pliable in His hands, for Him to mold us, shape us, and to make us more into the image of His dear Son, Jesus Christ, day by day, year by year. After all, the Scriptures tell us that He is the Potter, we are but clay in His hands (rf. Is. 45:9). Let us then, whether as individual believers or as a local church body, place ourselves completely at the Lord’s disposal and say, as our beloved Savior did who always serves as our supreme example, “Not as I will, but as You will” (rf. Mt. 26:39 NKJV). Let us welcome the changes, good or bad, heartbreaking or joyous, that God Providentially brings into our lives, knowing that He only has our best interests at heart in bringing about His glory (rf. Rom. 8:28) and the reflection of His Son in us as He prepares eventually to receive us into His Presence once our journey and mission on this earth is complete.