Steadfast Change

While I’m not a big fan of the heat of summer, I do like the longer days, which allows for a nice, end-of-the-day run. In the last week I’ve noticed that I need to start earlier if I want to get home before it gets dark, and since I run on crooked country roads it’s safer if there is still daylight. I’ll miss the late evening runs but there isn’t a whole lot I can do about it. Change is inevitable. The seasons change as does the light of day. We may not like it but we adjust and make do.

Change is part of life; nothing stays the same. The older I get the more aware I am of change and the less I like it. But like the changing light of seasons there’s not much we can do about it. All of this is amplified when you live in a time of intense and monumental change such as we do. We are experiencing incredible changes at all levels of human experience: social, political, economic, religious, moral, and environmental. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Change, as difficult as it can be, is critical to the progress of humanity and the development of God’s Kingdom. After all wasn’t the message of Jesus all about change?

Still, it’s not easy. It is normal to feel overwhelmed in the face of consequential change. This is perhaps when we are called to renew our trust in God who is steadfast love for each of us. The vagaries of life might be whirling around us; we might not feel like there is firm ground below us, but still God is steadfast. Psalm 85 says that in God “steadfast love and truth meet,” and that “justice and peace kiss.” The uncertainties of these times are met with the steadfastness of God’s love, truth and justice and peace. The irony, of course, is that while God is steadfast, God is also the catalyst of change. “Steadfast change” can give us hope and transform our fear into an anticipation of the great things that God has in store for us.