Change Has Purpose 

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. At time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. (Ecclesiastes 3:1 – 3 NLT) 

Year after year, we have spring, summer, fall and winter. There is a cycle of birth, growth and eventually death. We see it all around us, but when changes happen in our lives we can suddenly feel out of control. This illusion we create within our minds is because we do not grasp that God is not hindered by time. He existed before time began. He is and always was. He was not created. He is eternal. Our construct of time is limited because we have a natural body and our understanding happens in the reality of what we can see. 

I recognize that I am not the same person I was just five years ago.  My body has changed. I have to focus some of my time on maintaining my health.  I did not have to do these things when I was younger.  Those things were just a natural by-product of life at that time. What came easily for me then may no longer be as easy now, but I find ways to adapt to my current situation.  

Many people believe their value is based upon what they can physically do.  They focus solely on their abilities and when those abilities begin to change, they are lost.  They no longer have an idea of their value or worth.  It can be the same for people who have created their identity and lives based upon their careers. When they retire, they can lose their sense of purpose and worth. In Isaiah 43, verse 1, God speaks to Jacob and to all of Israel.  The people of Israel often identified themselves by their circumstances. They often felt lost and abandoned. They failed to see that their own stubbornness and hardness of the heart created a barrier between themselves and the Lord. Hear what God has to say to Israel, “O Israel, the one who formed you says, ‘Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you, I have called you by name; you are mind.’” 

When we recognize that our true value is in being a child of the Most High God, change will not cause us to lose our way. We recognize that God’s design allows for change and usually growth as a by-product. Without these two things, we become unproductive, fruitless and are not useful in the kingdom of God. We need to stop looking at the physical, the seen things and look at the supernatural.  The things in the realm of God are so vastly different from what this world values. This world will pass away.  We will live in a newly created heaven and earth. We will have new bodies, because this one is designed to perish. Right now, we need to embrace the changes that occur and recognize that God planned it this way so that we may continue to adapt, to grow, and to bloom in whatever season God plants us in. Everything has a season. Seasons have purpose. Don’t allow the changes in life to hinder you, but trust in God. Jeremiah 29:11 states, “’For I know the plan I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” God did not say that His plans for our future stop after we reach a certain age. No matter what our age, we all have a purpose in the kingdom of God. We are all called to serve Him in some capacity. Until He calls us home, we need to recognize that we are essential to His Church. Let us all fix our eyes on the God who calls us by name. He has ordained every day of our lives before we were born. Ask Him to reveal the next steps in His plan for your life. God loves it when we come to Him and ask for wisdom, trusting in His ways and not our own definitions of purpose.