Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt

There are times in your life when you know that God is dealing with you about change. Sometimes we get into our comfort zones and are afraid to stretch to new heights. Sometimes we get stuck in a rut and get frustrated rather than motivated to change. Sometimes we experience great hurt or loss and relive it over and over, never moving forward in our life – almost like we were locked in pain in the cell of suffering.  So let me say something and let it hit you peacefully without bad or guilty feelings. When you come to understand God better, you’ll better understand His will for you!  So understand this—God is always moving forward in His plan for mankind. And if He is always moving forward, you can know that He wants you to move forward because, in His choice, you are a part of that plan! You can’t move forward without making changes.

That doesn’t imply some huge radical life change—although it could. Sometimes subtle changes carried out consistently, result in radical areas of transformation in your life that bring fresh joy and peace and excitement. That has been Renee and my life since we retired from Pastoring after 35 years. And we see more changes in the near future.

Albert Einstein said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results.”  George Bernard Shaw said, “If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience.”

Both of these quotes reflect that instead of people changing, they make the same mistakes over and over while expecting different results.

When two people are having relational problems yet keep repeating the same mistakes hoping for different results, they will ultimately be disappointed. When change is brought upon you through outside circumstances such as changes in technology, laws, policies, or forces that are greater than you can control, and yet you resist that inevitable change because you are upset with it rather than learn to adapt to it, you’ll be disappointed. Change and the fear of it, often lead to many sleepless nights and attacks of anxiety. Yet the two quotes above reveal a truth. Change is often necessary and demanded. We can’t keep doing the same thing. You aren’t still driving a Model T and the speed limits have accordingly increased.

We know that ‘not knowing what to do’ can lead to anxiety. That is the biggest change we need to make—acknowledging we don’t know what to do. Seldom do we absolutely know what to do. For this reason, the most critical change we need to make and never change is returning to our knees and praying. We need to quit trying to control every single aspect of our life, and understand God’s plan usurps ours!

Proverbs 19:21 (NLT) says, “You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.”

Go ahead and think through things and make plans because that is part of life. But before you do any of that, return to your knees in sincerity and pray it through with the Lord as instructed in Philippians 4:6-7 NLT. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Quit fighting yourself. Quit fighting circumstances you cannot control. Quit panicking and losing sleep over changes that are inevitable and that make you afraid because you don’t know where they will take you. Change is a part of life. God gives you permission to pray about EVERYTHING so that you can leave your fears and cares at His feet knowing that He cares about the details of your life. He loves you. He wants His best for you.  And He knows how to get you there. He is more capable of leading you than you are at leading yourself. When you can learn to trust Him because you draw Him into the details of your life, you will see God more intimately involved in your life than you’ve ever seen before!

In closing, Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) reminds us, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Life is a faith walk of trusting God. That’s good because life is ever-changing! Don’t be freaked out. Pray, trust God, and have faith. Trust that as you one day look back in hindsight, you’ll see just how wonderful God has led you through change and the unknown! Expect the best because it’s what God wants for you.  Faith and trust in Him is what leads you there!

Luke 1:37 (NKJV) “For with God nothing will be impossible.” 

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In His love,
Pastor Tim Burt

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