‘We move forward when our discomfort with the present outweighs our fear of growth’ (David Schnarch)
‘I remember a friend saying that when the pain of remaining the same is greater than the pain of change, you’ll change’ (Walsh)
I remember our move from Singapore to Brisbane after living there for three and a half years was as challenging as moving to Singapore itself. We experienced the same uncertainties, fears and apprehensions.
That’s because change of any kind, big or small, major or minor is unnerving and uncomfortable. It involves moving from the known to the unknown; venturing from the familiar to the unfamiliar There is an element of loss with change. Our safety net is taken away. Change may take us outside of our comfort zones. That is why we can feel very threatened by change and often resist it at all cost.
And so we hang on to what we know, to what we have become used to. It’s no wonder some choose woundedness and pain over wholeness and healing; captivity over freedom.
This is poignantly illustrated in the movie, ‘Shawshank Redemption’. Brooks had been an inmate at Shawshank Prison for 40 years and for 37 of those years, he was the librarian. Prison life was hard but it had become his ‘home’. One day, uncharacteristically, he held a knife to the throat of a fellow inmate. It was discovered later that Brooks was about to be paroled. The notion of leaving prison was so terrifying he was willing to kill just so he could stay in prison!
Finally, the day of his release comes. Brooks takes the bus to his new home. It’s a room. Nothing fancy. He is given a new job but he feels all alone and lives in constant fear. Finally, his new life outside of prison proves unbearable. He hangs himself in his room.
Indeed, change can be challenging, terrifying even. While those feelings are normal, we must find a way through it by God’s enabling.
When Moses died, Joshua had big shoes to fill. No prize for guessing how he might have felt with the massive changes that were about to come to him but God was fully present to his fears, doubts, stress etc. That’s the context of God’s words of comfort to him in Joshua 1:5-9. God said to him, “Be strong and courageous for I am with you”. And God said it three times in those 5 verses!
While we can’t wait to see the back of this year, a sentiment I completely understand, we need to remember God wants to work through it to bring about the best possible outcomes. It is possible to grow and flourish under these trying conditions. What if there are precious and life changing truths he wants to teach us that we would not otherwise learn because of the season we are in? What changes does he want to bring into your life? Don’t resist God. “Only be strong and courageous for I am with you!”, says the Lord.
Coram Deo,
Mark
I remember our move from Singapore to Brisbane after living there for three years was as challenging as moving to Singapore itself. We experienced the same uncertainties, fears and apprehensions.
That’s because change of any kind, big or small, major or minor is unnerving and uncomfortable. It involves moving from the known to the unknown; venturing from the familiar to the unfamiliar There is an element of loss with change. Our safety net is taken away. Change may take us outside of our comfort zones. That is why we can feel very threatened by change and often resist it at all cost.
And so we hang on to what we know, to what we have become used to. It’s no wonder some choose woundedness and pain over wholeness and healing; captivity over freedom.
This is poignantly illustrated in the movie, ‘Shawshank Redemption’. Brooks had been an inmate at Shawshank Prison for 40 years and for 37 of those years, he was the librarian. Prison life was hard but it had become his ‘home’. One day, uncharacteristically, he held a knife to the throat of a fellow inmate. It was discovered later that Brooks was about to be paroled. The notion of leaving prison was so terrifying he was willing to kill just so he could stay in prison!
Finally, the day of his release comes. Brooks takes the bus to his new home. It’s a room. Nothing fancy. He is given a new job but he feels all alone and lives in constant fear. Finally, his new life outside of prison proves unbearable. He hangs himself in his room.
Indeed, change can be challenging, terrifying even. While those feelings are normal, we must find a way through it by God’s enabling.
When Moses died, Joshua had big shoes to fill. No prize for guessing how he felt with massive changes that was about to come to him but God was fully present to his fears, misgivings, stress etc. That’s the context of God’s words of comfort to him in Jos 1:5-9. God said to him, “Be strong and courageous for I am with you”. And God said it to him three times in those 5 verses!
While we can’t wait to see the back of this year, a sentiment I completely understand, we need to remember God wants to work through it to bring about the best possible outcomes. It is possible to grow and flourish under these trying conditions. What if there are precious & life changing truths he wants to teach us that we would not otherwise learn because of the season we are in? What changes does he want to bring into your life? Don’t resist God. “Only be strong and courageous for I am with you!”, says the Lord.
Coram Deo,
Mark
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