Change

Change can be annoying, disruptive, and just plain scary. It can also be a beautiful thing. Change can herald in a new era or destroy something great. It all depends on when and how it is done. Change is not only physical, in other words, it doesn't just happen around us or in our environment. As you go through life, you'll find that often times, changes need to be made within you. It is sometimes necessary to change the way we think, feel, react, speak etc. These are always the hardest changes to make.

As Christians, we go through various phases in our walk. We start off as babies and life is a lot easier during that time. We make mistakes, but it's expected. God coddles us a little. He pushes us forward but is a bit more lenient when we are reluctant to move. As we grow older and wiser in faith, the coddling stops. Things start to change. We are required to make changes to the way we do just about everything.

Growth almost always leads to change. We must change internally if we are to survive in the world around us that is changing. I've gone through several transitions and none of them were easy. First of all, I hate change. I like to be comfortable; chilling in my own safe haven that I've created for myself. But guess what, as long as you're comfortable, you won't grow. There's nothing pushing you to desire more. Hardship has a way of making us desperately desire God. In that desperation, we seek him earnestly and we do just about whatever it is He asks so we grow much more quickly. When life gets easier, we are much more resistant to change. Now it's ten times harder for God to get our attention. We almost refuse to transition from one stage to the next.

I'm at a point that requires transition and I'm scared. It's like I'm standing on the edge of a cliff looking down and God is behind me screaming "JUMP". I know He'll catch me if necessary, but who in their right mind wants to jump off a cliff, right? This transition period requires that I change the way I think about myself. It requires that I change the way I feel about certain things. It requires that I become numb in certain areas and more sensitive in others. It's a scary change because it involves my emotions (a subject that is always taboo for me).

I know that I'm not the only one at the edge of that cliff. A discussion with close friends yesterday revealed that God is asking that of several of us. He is asking that we jump, trusting that He'll be there to take us to whatever stage in our lives is next. Jumping off the cliff is scary, but I'm beginning to learn that if you never jump, you'll never fly. If a baby eagle refuses to jump from its nest and learn to fly, it will starve. It's mother will stop bringing it food at some point and it will die. It's the same with Christianity. God will never stop providing for us, but He will require that we go to our food at some point, instead of Him bringing it to us.

It's time to grow. It's time to accept that some things about the way we do business with God needs to change. It's time to move forward and do somethings differently. Accept the changes to our lives that God requires. Take the step and jump off the cliff. I promise, you'll learn to fly.

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo