NAVIGATING CHANGE

I don’t like CHANGE…I am a loyalist to systems, people and things! All of us have a bit of that in us and so when it happens in one area or areas, it can leave us feeling uprooted.  But I have learned that change remains an unavoidable reality in this thing called life. It often introduces sudden transitions, unpredictability, and the disturbance of familiar patterns. It can be a career shift, personal grief, or sudden trials and our natural inclination is often to hold tightly to what is familiar or yield to fear. It is the fear of the “unknown” and our need for security that drives us, even if, holding on to the familiar no longer serves us. 

Scripture teaches us that the true foundation for navigating change is anchoring ourselves in God's unbending, unchanging character. Hebrews 13:8 teaches us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever". When our surrounding circumstances change, our assurance depends not on unstable conditions, but on the unshakeable foundation of the Lord. Malachi 3:6: I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.  I know it is difficult and, if we are being honest, downright scary, but redirecting our focus from the destabilizing effects of change and focusing on the constancy of our Creator will provide stabilizing security in changing times.

Rather than simply enduring transition, we should view times of change as an opportunity to trust God’s divine guidance (even though it can be very, very challenging). Ecclesiastes 3:1 teaches us the following: "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens".  Navigating change requires surrendering our wisdom and remembering  Proverbs 3:5  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding".  We have to believe and recognize our journeys as intentionally guided by God. The change or shift is new for us but never for God. It feels random and chaotic to us but never to God!

~Line Osias-Cayenne