If you are anything like me, you cannot believe that summer is already practically over! In just about one week (or even less for some), kids will be headed back to school! As for here at the church, we are closing the books on our busy summer and are looking ahead to the fall and if you can believe it, even 2016! That’s right, our budget and committee processes are in full swing, all in an effort to get us prepared for things on the horizon in the coming year. It is an unquestionably exciting time, and I am profoundly grateful for the faithful men and women here at UBC that are stepping up and putting our Great Commission Strategy in high gear. But….
Not a big but, but a but nonetheless. Allow me to be transparent and confess something only to you….I feel like I’m barely holding on. I’ve no more caught my breath from the frantic pace of the summer only to jump right back in as we look ahead. Please don’t take this as complaining, because I’m not. I absolutely love what I do, and there is absolutely no other group I’d rather do it with than all of you. I think the Lord is just reminding me of the inevitability of change, so I figured I would just share the lesson with all of you as well, just in case you might need it too.
Change can be a frightening thing, can’t it? I know that the vast majority of folks don’t really like change. I mean, really, think about it. We have the same routine every day. We get up at the same time, go to the same job, you get the idea. It can sometimes be the same thing in our spiritual lives. We sit in the same spot in church. We wear the same clothes to church, talk to the same people at church, and eat at the same place after church. Now am I right or am I right? The thing is that sometimes something will pull us from that all-important routine, then it becomes a frightening scenario to us, almost like going down Niagara Falls in a barrel!
The fact of the matter is that change is a constant in our lives. It’s going to come, whether we want it to or not. But here’s the silver lining, friends. For the Christian believer, there is another constant, and that constant is found in the person of Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews said it best when he said:
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8, NIV)
I just love it when the Lord points me to Scripture that serves as a simple reminder of what I’ve known all along, but perhaps just needed a little reinforcement. Despite all the change going on in my life, whether it’s family schedules or hectic church life, Jesus Christ is the one true constant in my life. He is unchanging…and unmoving. That means that I can rest on Him and let Him lead me as opposed to trying to fight the current of change. I don’t have to be afraid because I know who it is that is leading me.
I remember as a young boy swimming in a lake at a camp I was attending. Like most young boys, I wanted to impress the girls there with how good of a swimmer I was. However, unlike most young boys, I wasn’t a good swimmer. As I swam about halfway out, I quickly realized the mistake I made. My arms and legs began to tire, and I felt myself going under quickly. The more I tried to flap around and cry out, the more fatigued I became. Just as my head went under the surface of the water, I felt the strong arms of a teenage girl (totally embarrassing) pull me back up and began to swim me back to shore. As I continued to fight to keep myself up, I vividly remember her telling me “Stop fighting. Just be still. Your fighting is bringing you down.”
Wow. My own efforts to fight were actually my downfall. I wonder if it’s not the same thing in our spiritual lives. We fight so hard to resist the change and try to do everything on our own instead of resting in the Lord’s arms and letting Him take us where we need to get to.
So consider this your friendly reminder as you do back to school shopping or as you get ready for the last few months of 2015. In some aspect of your life, change is either already here or it’s coming fast. But if you know Christ in an intimate and personal way, you don’t have to be afraid of it. Instead of going down Niagara Falls in a barrel, it can be more like tubing down the Bogue Chitto (if you’ve never done that, I highly recommend it J). Is your fighting bringing you down? If it is, remember the constant in your life. I am praying for you on your journey down the river.
Until Next Week,
Pastor JP
