A world of change

October 23, 2006

By William E. Richardson

“But we … are being transformed” (2 Corinthians 3:18, NKJV).

Did you know Charlie Brown’s baseball team finally won a game? Or that the Trix rabbit was allowed at last to eat a bowl of his favorite cereal? Another change you most likely didn’t expect was Pluto losing its planet status after 75 years.

We’re surrounded by constant change. Some of those remade matters really don’t matter. Other changes do matter because they touch our lives in important ways.

Think of how something as basic as the cost of gasoline impacts your entire budget. I recall a gallon of gas costing less than a dollar. Three dollars per gallon? Just a few years ago, unimaginable! Appalling! Now any time gas prices drop a few pennies, we’re glad to pay it.

We don’t like what we aren’t use to. A standard response to change is to resist it. We even expend great effort to fight it. Of course, God doesn’t expect us to accept all change without question.

We need a guidance system. Some key truths can help stabilize us in a constantly shifting world. More importantly, they can bring about needed change in us.

A prayer to accept Jesus as Savior is the first step into a lifetime of positive change. That prayer can begin a good habit of seeking God’s guidance and determining if He’s trying to use changes around you to change you into a better person.

It helps to ask yourself if a change that disturbs you will matter in eternity. Honestly answering that question will save the average Christian plenty of embarrassment, both inside and outside the church.

What new situations in your life might God be using as a tool to improve you today as His follower? Could that unexpected change be a gift from God to help you resist a certain temptation, or to be more compassionate, or to be more willing to share your faith?

Whatever is or isn’t changing around you right now, every day is the right day to pray the simple prayer, “Lord, please change me.”

William E. Richardson is senior pastor of Afton (Iowa) Assembly of God.