The Uncomfortableness of Change - Martin Wiles

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster; to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

The fish landed on the ground and flopped around. I waited to see what would happen.

From the time my grandmother taught me until I was a young adult, I loved to fish. If I went with her, I would find myself in a small boat. If I went with my brother or by myself, I stood on the bank. More than once I’ve had a fish fall to the bottom of the boat or on the bank because the hook was barely engaged or because the fish slipped from my hands as I was removing the hook. 

As soon as the fish hit the ground, it began flopping because it was out of its normal environment. Instinct told it if it didn’t return to water it would die. Sometimes the flopping was so intense that the fish actually flopped back into the water. Most of the time, it simply died. 

In a verse that had immediate application to Israel—but future meaning to any who chose to follow Him, God assured His people that He had good plans for them. Their future was bright. Unfortunately, they didn’t always share God’s vision. Like a fish out of water, they flopped around, desiring what wasn’t best for them.

Being out of water makes a fish uncomfortable. Change has taken place. Rather than succumb to what’s ahead—being eaten, the fish yearns to return to what it has always known. 

God’s plans often make me uncomfortable too. I call it change. Instead of giving in and following what I know is a good plan, I often flop around like a fish out of water until I fall back into my normal tradition or custom—where I feel comfortable again. 

My only choices are to move ahead with God’s plan—kicking and screaming…flopping around, or to forge ahead with excitement and belief that where God is leading is better than where I am—a journey I can only take by faith. 

When God’s plan puts me in an uncomfortable place—which it usually does, my job is to believe God’s plan is preferable to mine and will always lead me into a brighter future. And it will. His plan is for my good, not disaster. 

How are you responding to God’s plan for you?

Prayer: Father, give us vision to see the good plans You have for our future.  

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