Core Scripture: “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.” (James 4:17)

Message: Change is hard.  Especially when you are uncertain of what God is doing.  My life has certainly taken a major shift over the past few months.  To be completely honest, I have not embraced those changes as God has wanted me to. 

I have been pouting a bit.  Motivation is lacking.  Stress has been piling up with my new job, and my lower back pain has returned.  I know I should be here writing, but … I just haven’t.  There are no excuses either.  I am finally taking a stance today.  I have to write.  Just to see what comes out.  It may not be perfect, but I refuse to block out His voice any longer. 

Do you ever do that yourself?  God speaks to you.  You hear Him, but you don’t heed Him.  You go rogue and try to do things your own way.  How does that typically work out?  Easy.  It doesn’t.  I have been silent here for over a month, and I am tired of it. 

Our church has been studying the book of Jonah over the past month.  You know how Jonah was sent to Nineveh and tried to go the opposite direction to Tarshish?  I feel a bit like Jonah.  God has sent me to a new city in Osawatomie to teach.  Although I am there physically, spiritually I am elsewhere.  I am in a rut.  

I wonder what would happen if I tried to see the way God sees.  When I see an obstacle, God sees opportunity.  When I see a mountain, God sees a mountain moved.  Trusting God is hard during these times.  Embracing change is likewise difficult.  Keeping faith in the valleys of life can be agonizing. 

But He is working.  He is doing something behind the scenes that I have no clue about.  Although my heart has been hard, I cling to God’s promise in Ezekiel 36:26, which says, “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.”

It is time for some self-examination.  Our pastor this morning reminded us of Psalm 139:23-24.  To paraphrase, I need to allow God to look deep into my heart and inspect it.  It won’t be a pretty sight.  It feels like my heart is stony and stubborn.  But if I allow Him to begin working there, He will restore me.  My heart will soften. 

But only if I allow it.  Only if I let Him do His work.

What about you?  What changes are you resisting?  Are you listening to what God wants you to do?  Do you know what you should do and still cling to your own way?  We can be quite strong-willed at times.  I speak to myself as much as anyone else when I say it is time to give God control. 

I sure hope it doesn’t take another month for me to get back here.  In the meantime, I will try to let God do His thing.  He’s never wrong, He never fails, and His promises always reign true. 

Challenge: Whatever change is happening to you, do your best to see it through God’s eyes.  Know that even though you may be out of your comfort zone, God is working behind the curtain.

Prayer points: Lift up the following areas to the Lord …

• Praise God for the new opportunities He gives us to change.
• Pray that teachers all over, especially this one, will embrace change with a willing attitude. 

Just for fun: Do you ever have that student that says something out of the blue?  One of my favorite 6^th graders proudly declared in the hallway, “I’ve been eating me a lot of corn dogs lately.”  Hard to know exactly how to respond to that other than to congratulate him!

Prayer: Father, forgive me when I am stubborn to what You want from me.  Help me not just hear your voice but act on it.  Amen.