When Change Comes, Part 2
Todd Miller
Metal roofing manufacturer and host of the Construction Disruption podcast. I help to ensure the success of metal roof projects and also help contractors Command Their Marketplace.
Below is the message I was blessed to provide at Community of Hope last Sunday. Part 2 of 3 on Change. I will be up on June 19 with Part 3. Please come this Sunday to hear Pastor Jane. We serve breakfast at 8:30 am with service at 9, in the new Alpha Center just south of Sidney.
Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:1-0, NIV)
This is the Word of our Lord.
Thanks be to God.
So, does everyone remember what we started talking about last week as part of a three-week series? Change, right? We’re talking about how we respond – what we do when the circumstances of our life change.
And, if you will recall, we talked about how some changes – usually the things we plan for – are good and welcomed by us. But other changes that perhaps get thrust upon us such as illness or relationship problems or challenges at work, maybe even losing a job – those things are not so pleasant, are they? They can make us anxious and afraid or maybe even angry. They can make us want to fight or make us want to run away.
And remember how I gave us a little three letter word as an acronym for how to approach change – Ice. I talked about how I recently saw a Reds pitch described as having ice in his veins because how he remained calm under pressure – unphased in the face of change.
And Ice stands for:
Change is Inevitable
God is in Control
Embrace the Newness
These are the things we can do to help us navigate change and to do so with peace and grace and calm.
Many years ago I heard someone make a point about Christians that really stuck with me. What they said is that it’s no wonder that the world doesn’t see value in having a relationship with Jesus Christ because so often they look at Christians and see them as the same kind of crazy that they are. They see us having the same problems, going through the same stuff, making the same mistakes and leading lives that show the same anxiety, fear, and anger that they live with. So it’s no wonder that non-Christians – or pre-Christians as I like to say – look at us and say “Why would I want what they have? Their lives don’t seem much different than mine.”
But yet here’s what I want you to think about. Have you not known some strong Christians in your life who just always had some calm and sweetness about them even in the midst of change – even in the midst of stress?
One person I think about is my great grandma Clum. Now she passed away when I was still pretty young but she was always the sweetest, calmest, kindest person I knew. She had this incredible spirit about her – everyone saw it. And, her life was far from easy. Her life had some pretty severe changes and difficulties that she faced. Raising a family in the depression. Farming with horses. Her husband becoming diabetic during a time when we didn’t know how to deal with diabetes. Losing at least one baby I believe shortly after birth. Having a daughter who was a single mom for several years. Having her only son go off to fight in World War II. Trust me, she went through a lot. And yet this kind, gracious, loving woman never let us see her sweat. And you know what -- she had incredible faith. We all knew that her sweetness, her calm was borne out of her incredible faith in God. I remember when she died seeing her in her casket and she had this wonderful sweet smile on her face. You really don’t see that very often. When someone commented to the funeral director about how nice it was that they were able to put a smile on her face, he replied that they didn’t put it there. She’d died that way – meeting her Savior no doubt.
So, that is one of my stories of someone in my life whose faith always shined. I hope that you have had some people like that in your life as well.
But, again, back to what I was saying earlier – is it any surprise that much of the world sees no value in having a relationship with Christ when they look at Christians and see the same problems, the same anxieties, the same stresses that they do through? It really isn’t, is it? But yet, what if we can go through stress, what if we can go through turmoil and change in our lives and carry the sweet spirit of the Lord with us? What if we can look like my great grandmother Clum, always with a smile on her face even in the midst of trouble, instead of being all wrought up with fear or anger like the rest of the world so often is? What message do we send to the world in that case? What kind of witness do we then carry into the world?
As Christians, our ultimate goal should be to live our lives in such a way and show a sweetness to the world in such a way that the world looks at us and says they want what we have. That they don’t want the fears and anger they see in the rest of the world – they want what we have.
Changes things, doesn’t it?
And there’s really only one place where can get that sweet spirit and calm from, isn’t there? Jesus Christ. If we think back to ICE – the C stands for God is in Control. Everything changes when we remember that – and when we remember that He loves us dearly and always wants the best for us.
I was listening to Chris Heckaman’s sermon from last Sunday – remember Chris? Used to be the lead pastor at Sidney First? Well in his sermon, Chris brought up two songs that some of us learned years ago in Sunday School or Vacation Bible School. And back then they were just words and songs and maybe some motions we’d act out. But now, here I am at the age of 58, and I can see so much truth in these simple songs.
I know that these will be familiar to you so we will have the words up on the screen -- sing along with me please. The first is Jesus Loves The Little Children:
Jesus loves the little children
All the children of the world
Red and yellow, black and white
They are precious in His sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world
Jesus loves the little children of the world
And, of course, as you know it, He loves all the big adults of the world, too.
The other song that Chris reminded me of in his sermon was He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands. For any of us who lived during the 70’s, I know that you have heard and sung this song more than a few times. So, let’s join in and show the younger folks here how we did it in the 70’s, okay?
He's got the whole world in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands.
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He's got the wind and the rain in His hands,
He's got the wind and the rain in His hands,
He's got the wind and the rain in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands.
He's got the sun and the moon in His hands,
He's got the sun and the moon in His hands,
He's got the sun and the moon in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands.
He's got the little bitty baby in His hands,
He's got the little bitty baby in His hands,
He's got the little bitty baby in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands.
He's got you and me Brother in His hands,
He's got you and me Brother in His hands,
He's got you and me Brother in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands.
He's got you and me Sister in His hands,
He's got you and me Sister in His hands,
He's got you and me Sister in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands.
He's got everybody here in His hands,
He's got everybody here in His hands,
He's got everybody here in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands.
There’s a lot of truth in those two Sunday School songs, isn’t there? They are much, much more than just catchy little tunes that we sang as kids.
Okay, I want to share a short video with you. This is done by a Christian comedian who calls himself Michael Junior and he calls it Delivery Room. Let’s check it out.
Be still and listen for the Father’s voice. Isn’t that where we want to be when those times of change come along? We may be singing praises of Thanksgiving to the Lord because the changes occurring in our lives are good and exciting. Or we may be crying out to the Lord – “Just help me hold on! I don’t like what I am going through but I know that You are here and You love me.” Whether we’re happy about the changes or concerned about the changes, what joy and peace can be ours when we just be still and listen for the Father’s voice.
I want to go back and take another look at the scripture we started with today.
Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:1-0, NIV)
My friends, this is our assurance from our savior. The world can be falling apart with change and turmoil. You may not have a clue what’s going to happen next. But the Lord – the Creator of the universe – loves you without fail and He gives you His peace. This is peace that even in difficult times you can show to the world. Because it’s peace that we get only though our relationship with God. And by showing to the world that we have this peace – just like my sweet great grandma Clum during difficult times – we point the world toward Christ and a better future.
Go out, enjoy this week as tomorrow we honor those who have given all in the protection of our country and our freedoms. Remember that during times of change …
Change is Inevitable and God is in Control. In another three weeks after Jane preaches next week and Chris Bucio the following week, we will unpack the E from Ice – how to embrace the new things that come out of times of change.
Let us pray.