“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” – James Baldwin

“Sometimes in the wind of change we find our true direction.” – Unknown

“When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.” – Chinese Proverb

It seems like everywhere you look nowadays, change abounds – not in subtle, inconspicuous ways, but in ways that are being described as the “new normal”.  If you are like me, just hearing the word “change” is like a shrieking, shrilly sound – one that makes you cringe like fingernails scrapping across a chalkboard.

The winds of change can be painful and often difficult.  They force us to move out of our comfort zone – a place that each of us feels safe and secure.  Change is one thing, but when it becomes a “new normal”, a permanent, enduring alteration of our existence; it can seem as if our world has been turned perpetually upside down.

I’m afraid the winds of change that have blown lately within our country and world will have a lasting effect on how we do business, how we socialize, and how we fundamentally interact with one another.  But for many of us, this isn’t our first experience with a change in our environment that has forever altered or transformed who we are.

For some of us it is a physical death that has taken someone out of our life and left a lasting void.  For others, it’s a relationship that positively changed how we viewed life and our purpose here, and now that relationship is gone and will never be renewed or restored again.  For some, it’s an illness or a handicap that will forever change how we live and go about our daily lives.  For others, it is a significant emotional trauma we experienced that will permanently change how we see things and interact with others.

How have the winds of change CHANGED you?

I can tell you my friend that when change has entered my own life, I have found shelter and a welcomed haven in those things that don’t.  I move closer to the immovable, unshakable foundations of life that are immutable and lasting – those that provide a refuge and protection from the blustery winds of change that are an inevitable part of life in this world.

Take Refuge in the Creator

“I am the Lord, I change not.”  – Malachi 3:6 KJV

“Jesus, the Messiah, is the same yesterday and today – and forever!” – Hebrew 13:8 ISV

“The Lord of Hosts has sworn: ‘As I have planned, so will it be; as I have purposed, so will it stand.” – Isaiah 14:24 NIV

Over 20 years ago, this fundamental truth saved my life.  It affected me in such a deep way, I spent a year and a half writing about it – the immutable nature of the God we serve.  Every aspect of who He is and what drives His character is grounded within what is steadfast and unchanging.  His love for us all never changes.  His ultimate sovereignty over all things is never altered or moved.  His forgiveness is always available – always plentiful.  He is never absent, unaware, or aloof – always present and never bound by time.  His written, Holy Word has stood firm and fixed throughout all history.  This constant source of love, stability, strength, authority, and existence anchors a fallen world, its frail inhabitants, and all the evil that permeates it.

When the winds of change blow, realize that an unchanging, loving God is in charge of their direction, their affect, and their outcome.  Remember His words – “As I have planned, so will it be!”

Take Refuge of Who You Are Deep Inside – The REAL You

“But the one united with the Lord is one spirit with Him.” – 1 Corinthians 6:17 NETB

That invisible part of what makes you who you are, the part that cannot be found or held or touched in death is eternal and lasting.  Your human nature can be tossed and blown around by the winds of change, but your spiritual nature is constant and steadfast.  As a child of God, you will persevere and outlast any temporary changes this world instigates or inflicts upon you.

As the winds of change blow, steady and center yourself in your spiritual nature.  Feed it daily.  Meditate on Scriptures.  Remind yourself of God’s promises.  Think about the true nature of why you are here.  See the worldly winds of change as fickle, temporary, and fleeting.  See them through the lens of God’s purposes and His sovereign intentions – trusting Him as they gust and rage.  Keep front of mind that you are an eternal being and the unchanging aspects of all that encompasses.

Can you see the lasting, unchanging nature of who you really are?  Does this focus change how you view the temporary changes of this world?

Take Refuge in Your Free Agency

One of the most beautiful, precious gifts you have been given is your ability to choose.  No matter what is happening on the exterior, your internal perspective is ALWAYS sheltered from the winds of change.  It cannot be moved or touched unless you allow it to be.

ONLY YOU can change your perspective.  Only you can muster the power to look at things differently, to react to them appropriately, and to see them in a way that creates and promotes a healthy outcome for you and others.

So how will you choose to see the changes occurring within our country and in the world right now?  How will you respond and react to them?

How will you choose to see the death, the lost relationship, or the handicap?

Do you see how YOU can internally impact the winds of change by how you choose to think, act, or respond to them?

As you contemplate the winds of change that are blowing right now, look to those things that NEVER change – to the untouchable, internal choices and perspectives you embrace – to the everlasting, interminable spiritual nature that ultimately defines who you truly are – and to a God who is immutable and beyond reproach – a loving, ever-present help in these changing times.

God bless!