Change....It's About Trust!

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. 

Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 

Then you will experience God’s peace, 

which exceeds anything we can understand. 

His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

~ Philippians 4:6-7 

 

Saul had a job to do and he LOVED his job!  In fact, he was so enthusiastic about his job that he developed a reputation for his passion for his work.  His job?  Tearing apart the Church, jailing or killing or torturing Christians, and then off to the next town to do it all over again.  When Saul showed up, people ran and hid!  People left town!  Saul terrified people and he relished that reputation.

 

As it happened, Saul and his band of merry church destroyers were on their way to Damascus to, once again, do what they do best.  And as they traveled the road, Jesus came and Saul faced the change in his life he never expected or wanted!  Jesus blinded Saul.  In fact, Saul the Ruthless was now having to be led around by someone else because he was helpless.  

 

Think about this:  Sometimes when change comes into our lives, it is not what we expected or wanted.  It might leave us feeling helpless...just like Saul.  But if you read Acts 19, you will see that Saul the Ruthless eventually became Paul the Apostle who wrote most of the New Testament.  

 

In 2005, my wife and I went for a walk.  We had just moved into our home and we were walking around the neighborhood.  My left arm started to tingle...then it went numb.  Not a good feeling, let me tell you.  Later that week, I went in for my physical and the doc put me on the stress test treadmill.  In the middle of the test, my left arm went numb again and the test had to be stopped.  Doc called my wife to come get me and take me to the hospital where he had already scheduled a heart cath.  

 

Now....when you are laying on that stainless steel table with no dignity left, and they release the dye into your artery (so they can see what's going on) and you hear the attending physician mutter: "WOW!"  That is NOT what you expect or want to hear!  I knew change was coming and I wasn't going to like it.  A quadruple bypass and 6 months of recovery later, my life has changed for the better.  Yes, I had to make some hard choices and had to accept some choices that were made for me.  But had that not happened, I wouldn't be here now writing this.

 

My Grampa had a way with words, often quite colorful, and he once told me: "S&$t happens. Your choice is to wallow in it, step in it, or step over it, or shovel it into your garden so you can have a good crop."  Change happens!  What you do with it determines the crop you will grow from it.

 

Don't worry or be anxious! Give it go God and let Him make a masterpiece out of your life! The caterpillar cannot become the butterfly without change.