What To Do When... Life Changes Series

What to Do When¡K part 5 ¡§Life changes¡¨

Story ¡V Graduating from high school and not really sure what to do. Was then accepted into Ford school and found my way into a great paying job. During this time I was miserable because I felt like I was not in God¡¦s will for my life. So I left my great paying job for the pay of an intern at a local church. I went from driving a new car to driving an old pickup and I had to learn to live on a budget as opposed to spending money as I wanted to¡K This was a big change in my life!!!

I would like to begin by congratulating you all, tonight is the final part of our series on ¡§what to do when¡¨ and I want to thank you all for coming out each week and finding out what God would have us do in all different kind of situations to stay focused on him. As always I want to review real quick over what we have been through so far: The first week we looked at what to do when you are confused, and we said those things were to Stop, Seek, and Submit. The following week we looked at what to do when things go wrong, and we said that we should Thank, Think, Take, and Trust. The third week we dug into what to do when things go right. We said we should Rejoice, Rest, and Reach Out. Then last week the topic was what to do when you are attacked and they were to Pause, to recognize that God is in control. Pray, for Gods protection and peace. And to Praise, God that he will save you from your attackers. So that is where we have been, each week trying to figure out how to stay God focused instead of me focused in the midst of life¡¦s different situations. This week I would like to look at something that each and everyone of us have dealt with, and will continue to deal with throughout our lives¡K and that something is change. For some people that is almost a dirty word!!! Change¡K yuck!!! For the vast majority of the people in our world change is a painful and difficult thing to face in life. We are by nature creatures of habit, we get up at the same time everyday, we have the same morning routine, and to add to that if that gets messed up the rest of the day is just terrible, we eat at the same times, we go to the same restaurants and order the same thing every time, a number one super sized with a coke¡K and on and on we go. The thing that is so painful about change and the reason it is so hard to deal with is because it always causes us to lose just a little control over our own lives. We hate this, but that is why it is the perfect tool for the devil to use to get us distracted, and get our focus off of God and onto our own problems. There is something else that makes it tough though, we all have to go through it!!!

I have some ¡§raise of the hand¡¨ questions before we go on:

„h How many of you have been born?

„h How many of you had to go to kindergarten?

„h How many of you have ever graduated from a grade and forced to go to the next?

„h How many of you have ever moved?

„h How many of you have ever lost a friendship or relationship?

„h How many of you have ever changed your underwear?

See I told you we all change¡K

But really all of these things are times when life has changed and we are forced to deal with the consequences. Sometimes they can be very serious like: a parents divorce, the death of a loved one, or bad decision you made. So how do we handle this in a God honoring manner that keeps the focus on him and not on us, well I am glad you asked.

There are 3 things that I think we can do to help in this task and they are:

„h Express Thanks

„h Enlist

„h Expect

As we have done with the other parts of this series I also have a story about a guy from the Bible that went through this and can help us formulate what to do when life changes¡K

What would you say if I told you that your name was going to be changed, your wife¡¦s name was going to be changed, you were going to move to a strange new home, and you were going to have a whole country come from you even though you had no children?