Things Change - Martin Wiles

Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt. Exodus 3:10 NLT

Within ten minutes, our world changed.

My daughter and I had set out for an overnight backpacking trip—something we had not done together in nineteen years. The weather forecast predicted an 80% chance of thunderstorms. Having done a lot of hiking in the mountains before, we figured it would be 100%.

Our destination was Sam’s Knob, a rocky bald that boasted 360-degree views. We hoped to arrive before the storms did. At over 6,000 feet, we felt sure one or more of the thunderstorms would cross the summit, and we didn’t want to be exposed when they did.

Thunder rolled across neighboring peaks as we labored toward the top. We wearily gazed at angry clouds that stalked and passed over the tops of neighboring mountains. But the storms spared us. After a steep and rocky climb to the top, we welcomed our reward: several rocky places where we stood and gazed upon beauty we hadn’t witnessed in quite some time.

We stood and marveled and took pictures. We could see mountains far into the distance beyond the ones that immediately surrounded us. But what we also saw was numerous storm clouds.

Ten minutes after summitting, raindrops began to fall. Wisps of white clouds slithered through the valleys around us like snakes searching for a home. Soon, the clouds gobbled up the neighboring summits and swallowed the valleys. What appeared so clear and beautiful ten minutes earlier now disappeared.

Moses experienced a sudden change also. For forty years, he had lived on the backside of the desert tending sheep. Running from an angry Pharaoh put him there. Moses had killed one of Pharaoh’s citizens. One day, an angel of the Lord appeared to Moses and told him to lead the Israelites out of the slavery they had endured for 400 years.

Change is inevitable. We may not enjoy it, but we cannot live without experiencing it. Expecting it makes it easier to accept when it comes.

But some things never change. Among them, God. God told Malachi, “I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed” (3:6). God will always love us and forgive us when we ask. Our confessions repeatedly reach His ears. God never turns away anyone who wants to enter His family, nor does He ever leave us when our circumstances turn ugly. And He is with us during times of change.

Unwelcome change may make us feel as if God has abandoned us, but He hasn’t. He controls the circumstances, and in His timing, He will change them. God knows what He has ahead for us, but sometimes it takes time for Him to prepare us for what’s ahead.

Our job is to be patient, trust God, keep doing the last thing He told us until we get further instruction, and not give up hope. With a sovereign God, things can change in a moment, as our mountain view did.

Don’t give up on God when unwelcome change occurs. He can change things again.

Prayer: Father, when unwelcome change approaches, help us trust You until the welcome change arrives.

Tweetable: How do you react when things change? 

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