Nineteenth Century French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr famously wrote (as popularly translated), “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Without a doubt, life is changing all around us, and many people fear the new realities change brings and fail to make adjustments and embrace the wonderful opportunities those changes offer.
Change or Stay the Same
An amazing truth about God, is that although HE never changes, everything He touches changes for the better. God is all about bringing newness into the lives of His people. His Word says much about things that being fresh:
- God promises to bring about “a NEW thing” – which He did through Jesus – Isaiah 43:19
- The Psalms encourage us to sing a NEW song to God – Psalm 33:3; Psalm 40:3; Psalm 96:1; Psalm 98:1
- In Christ we are NEW creations – 2 Corinthians 5:17
- Jesus reminds us not to put NEW wine into old wine skins (certainly a parable to remember the newness that God brings through our relationship with Jesus) – Matthew 9:17
- When God consummates this age of grace, He promises to make all things new – Revelation 21:5
So, if God is all about “newness”, why do we hold on to “sameness”? Why do we want to go back to “the good ol’ days” as if God does not have better days ahead? Many followers of Jesus delight to tell me stories of what God did 10, 20, 30 years ago, but I hear very little about what God did today, yesterday, the last few weeks.
Tweet: So, if God is all about “newness”, why do we hold on to “sameness”?
Let me suggest some NEW ideas that hopefully will help you experience some the newness that God wants to breathe into your life.
- Consider a different Bible reading plan. Maybe read from a new translation, or read new portions of the Bible you’ve not read in a while. Maybe choose a single book of the Bible and read it everyday for a whole month – maybe even from different translations each day.
- Learn a new skill and look for ways to use it so serve God. Maybe you could learn to use a different social media platform on the computer (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or others) and then use it to serve the Lord. Watch what God can do through you.
- Take a step of faith and serve in a different ministry. Get out your comfort zone and serve God in a way that may seem uncomfortable to you. In doing so, you experience a new way God will work through you.
Tweet: Get out your comfort zone and serve God in a way that may seem uncomfortable to you.
These are a few ideas of allowing some of God’s newness into your life. What about some of my readers? Use the comment section below and share with us some ways you experience new blessings from God.
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Chuck Lawless wrote a good article on change. You can read it by clicking here.