DEALING WITH UNEXPECTED CHANGES

While digging through my archives of the Sunday School lessons the Lord gave me, 
I found this from 1993 (it was not from me - if only I could articulate this well). 
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Life holds seasons of change for everyone.  
There will always be ups and downs 
- fluctuations and changes in feelings, and responses.

When things are favorable, it is easy to be happy and content.

But when circumstances are adverse and our plans go awry, 
we feel discouraged, depressed, or dismayed.

How can we live with a sense of stability, inner quietness, 
and peace in the light of situations that are unpredictable?

Perhaps no one in the Bible 
faced as many circumstances as the Apostle Paul.

He was praised and hated.  
He was welcomed in some towns and stoned in others.  
He was tormented by Satan, beaten, whipped, and shipwrecked.  
He had a thorn in the flesh that God would not remove.

It was in prison (a place that of despair) 
that he wrote his letters to the Philippians. 
As he concluded what often is referred to as "the epistle of joy", 
Paul revealed the cornerstone of his ability to endure 
unstable and hard times without being conquered by them: 
"...I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am".
"I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live 
in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being 
filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need" 
(Philippians 4:11-12).

Overcoming ups and downs is a learning process.  
When Paul was saved on the Damascus road, 
he did not automatically know how to deal with change.  
He learned these things.

We cannot foresee what we will face in the future.  
Many situations that affect us are out of our control.
Many people have the false idea that when they give their lives to Christ, 
everything will improve.
 
But God has something better for us.  
Once we are saved, He has only begun His goal 
to conform us into the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ.

He does not want us to reach some plateau 
where we feel complacent or satisfied, where all is comfort and ease.  
In a fallen world, that will not happen because of sin's corruption.  
And God knows that change brings confrontation 
that often is needed to grow us in our relationship with Christ.

It is guaranteed we will face a life that is constantly changing.  
Our bodies age.  
Cars and houses deteriorate.  
The economy fluctuates.  
Our feelings and relationships shift.

One week everything is fine in your business.  
Then suddenly a crisis in another part of the world 
places your company in a fight for survival.

A marriage may appear sound on the surface, 
but one day the apparent harmony quickly vanishes.
 
Your children seem well behaved at twelve years old;  
but by the time they are thirteen years old, 
they act rebellious, indifferent, and ungrateful.

Similar fluctuations can occur in our spiritual lives.

One day you read your Bible, pray, God seems close, and everything is fine.

Then, without warning, you hit a dry spell.  
Your prayers seem futile.  
You still read the Bible and pray, 
but there is no sense of intimacy with God.

These vacillating periods do not mean we are backslidden.  
Like Paul, we can learn valuable lessons.  
The result of learning these lessons in seasons of change 
is a life of peace and contentment.  
Paul said, "I've learned to be content".

Are you content when you have unmet needs, things are down, 
and everything seems to be getting worse?  
Or do you get depressed, anxious, and hard to live with?

Most of us respond to circumstances of life emotionally 
rather than spiritually.

But if our daily decisions and actions are based on emotions, 
we will never be able to experience true spiritual contentment.

You may have a situation at home that is very difficult.  
You may face unfair pressure at work.  
Your debts may mount each week.  
Someone may be unfairly persecuting you.

The natural response is restlessness, anxiety, and uncertainty.  
But God wants you to be content and respond in His way.