Ecclesiastes 3:1 (ESV) 1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
Most of 2017 and even now in 2018, I have experienced a season of change. Some changes that were anticipated and necessary and others that in the course of life just dropped on my plate. Some of the change was exciting while the greater amount was stressful and unanticipated.
My wife and I moved from our comfortable home of twenty-two years into my father-in-law’s house after he passed away. It is much smaller and was in need of plenty of repairs; most unknown.
We found ourselves with a major remodel on our hands. The roof leaked in four places, one outside wall was rotted, the bathrooms were unusable, as well as the kitchen. Wow! What had we gotten into? But there was no doubt that this was where the Lord wanted us, so we began attacking the problems. A great many things in our lives and ministry were either altered or put on hold as we set out on this adventure, including this blog.
We got up in the morning, grabbed our toiletries and clothes and headed for the church gym to shower as we started our day. It was uncomfortable and at times stressful. The kitchen was unusable so we ate out for every meal. We became creative and settled into a routine of fast food restaurants with an occasional nice meal at a “real” restaurant. It wasn’t long before we longed for a good home-cooked meal. We actually tried to do just that, as I replaced all the burners on the electric range. It didn’t make it through but one meal before the range just gave up the ghost.
We were buying a house where I had taken a 2×6 and braced it up against some rotted
rafters to stop them from falling on the side of the house that had half a wall completely rotted out. I had visions of the corner of our house just collapsing. My prayer life revolved around’ Lord keep it standing until I can someone to repair the roof and wall.”
But it did seem exciting to have the opportunity to remodel this home in “our image.” My only real problem was, I had no idea what I was doing!. I found our very quickly I was no plumber as I spent a full day trying to stop the leaky kitchen sinks and failed. Nor was I a carpenter.
It seemed, let me rephrase that, there were new unpleasant surprises every time I moved something or attacked another area of repair or remodel. Often I would look at the “surprise” and wonder, “what’s next”?
You may ask, why did you move? The answer, change. Not change for change’s sake but that as I looked at my ministry and the needs of the church in which I ministered, change needed to take place so that the church would be able, in the future, to continue to the advance the Gospel. Enough said.
But these changes have become multi-faceted as I look to the future. aging, the inevitability of declining health, loss of energy, ministry vision, all had to be taken into consideration while I was still capable of making “change”. Traditional retirement was out of the question, so what would the Lord have me do in the next five or ten years and onward? That’s the journey….
In light of that theme of “change,” this bog, which I must confess, was way too ambitious, in that I wanted to address weighty theological themes on a near daily basis, or at least three to four times a week became time intensive in research and writing. So “change,” will take place. There will, from time to time be the weightier theological discussions, but I want to take time to share on a more personal and possibly devotional level the “immeasurable riches of His grace..” (Ephesians 2:7) It will be more personal, revealing struggles and victories, pain and joy, but most of all, how the Lord Jesus Christ moves through the circumstances of life (Romans 8:28-29).
“Change,” is the course of life. How we handle it, how we are submissive to Christ in change, and most of all how we honor and glorify Him through change is the real question. You can’t run from it. It will happen. For the believer, ALL change is God ordained. It may be fun, or scary, or just plain hard, but it is for you, from Him, to bring Him glory.
- Michael Holtzinger
FYI: “Human will in light of God’s Sovereignty” will soon be posted