Dealing with Change

By:  Pastor Bob Reinhart

Our topic for today is how to deal with big changes that come into our lives. These kinds of changes periodically happen to everybody, and when they do they always produce a lot of stress. They can be any kind of change - physical, psychological, emotional. And there's also what behavioral psychologists call "milestone changes".
"Milestone changes" are the "biggies". These are the ones that significantly impact us, and they often alter the course of our lives. An example is the birth of a child. When a young married couple has their first child - even though it's a blessed event - it's life changing and can be stressful. Another example is starting college, or graduating from college.  Then there's starting a new job, or changing jobs or getting fired from a job. And of course there's marriage (getting married, struggles in marriage, divorce) and so on. The list is pretty endless.
The truth is God's universe is not static - everything in His universe is moving.  And since we are a part of God's universe, our lives are not static either. There's always something waiting around the corner. So it's important to develop some skills in dealing with this inevitable reality.
There's an approach that's often used called the, “Hang in there baby” approach. It's the idea that if we just hang on long enough, things will work out. People who follow this approach commonly say, "Don't worry." "You'll get through it." "Just hang in there." There's some truth to that approach, but the problem is, it doesn't address the "getting through" part. It just suggests holding on any way you can. So it's really not that effective or comforting for that matter. So we need to look for other answers.
A good place to look is the Bible. The Bible has some very effective suggestions on how to approach and deal with change in our lives. In our next several blogs we are going to look at three of them.
The first way the Bible suggests we approach change in our lives is LOOK FOR GOD IN IT. 
Let's me give you an example. Let's say that we just got terminated from our job, and the timing couldn't be worse. We have lots of financial obligations. The job market is very difficult right now. We have very little cash in reserve. And we are scared to death. So what should we do? Well, one thing we can do is to ask God a question. "God, where are YOU in this situation?" That's it -that's the question. "God, where are YOU in this situation?"
The reason we ask this question is because God is involved in everything. This job termination didn't take Him by surprise, and God doesn't allow anything to happen without a good reason. So it just makes good sense for us to ask Him what He is up to. And the amazing thing about that is - God wants to tell us. Take a look at James 1:5
"If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking." James 1:5
OK, so we decide to take the advice of this passage and ask God for wisdom about our job situation. So we talk to God. Here's an example of this conversation.
Lord, I have just lost my job, and I am so upset. I'm scared. I'm worried. I don't know what is going on, and I don't know what to do. Lord You tell me in James 1:5 that if I need wisdom, all I have to do is ask You and You will tell me, and You won't turn me away. Thank YOU for this wonderful promise. Lord I ask you to tell me what's going on. Do YOU have another job for me? What is it? When will I get it? What am I going to do in the meantime to survive? I know YOU promise to provide for my needs (that's another one of Your wonderful promises). So, I ask YOU to hear my prayer. Please give me the answers to these questions and please reassure me. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
This is an approach we should always take whenever we are confused about what's going on in our lives. But unfortunately, many of us won't do it, because we either don't remember to do it, or we don't believe it will work.  In either case it comes down to a matter of faith. Here's a great definition of faith:
Faith is believing what God says is true and acting on it.
But that's hard to do for many people, because we always have to take the first step.  The ball is in our court. But God says He will always provide enough faith so we can do that. Take a look at Romans 10:17.
"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17
That's a great passage, because it tells us where faith comes from. It comes from hearing God's Word. Now the James 1:5 passage that we just looked at is God's Word. In fact everything written in the Bible is God's Word. And Romans 10:17 says when we hear God's Word, God will automatically provide faith to believe it. Faith comes right along with the passage. It's like a little flickering flame, and we just need to take it and fan it into a huge blaze.
OK, so we pray according to the passage, and God answers, which He will always do. And when that happens our faith gets stronger. That's how it's fanned. God is in the business of building our faith, and this is one of the primary ways He does it. So I know some of you may be skeptical. So, let me give you a challenge. Try it out and see if it works. If you sincerely approach God, believing He will be good to His promise, try it out. I think you will be amazed.

Questions about this blog post?  Contact:  bob@riverrecoverychurch.com