The management of change is one of life’s great secrets. Do it well and you find enjoyment and fulfilment. Do it badly and you find frustration and often failure.

It is also true and obvious that change is a permanent feature of life and so cannot be avoided. Growing up or ‘growing out’, all spell change.

My father often says “God never changes but He is always on the move”. My dear old friend Alfred Missen used to say, “Constant change is here to stay”. Balancing these truths will help us negotiate the path of life with dignity, determination and delight.

Jesus, always challenging and demanding said “Unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 18:3). So change is a must for successful living.

A friend of mine heard Bill Gates of Microsoft say that 99% of business is less successful than it should be because it does not master the obvious. Let me state some obvious things.

1. God Never Changes. “God is not a man that He should lie, nor the son of man, that He should change His mind” (Num 23:19). Many scriptures carry this truth, among them 1 Sam 15:29, Ps 110:4, Mal 3:6 – “I the Lord do not change” and James 1:17 – “the Father… does not change like shifting shadows.”

2. Blessing Cannot Be Reversed. Numbers 23:20. Don’t let anyone rob you of your God given inheritance.

3. God Can Change Us. 1 Sam 10:9, 1 Cor 15:51-52. Thank God for this truth it carries miraculous possibilities.

4. Sin Changes Us. Rom 1:18-32. This stark context chronicles the downward path of sin.

5. We Must Change to Succeed. Matt 18:3. We must always remember the unchanging character of God and the reliability of His promises, for these truths will provide an anchor and a fixed point of reference when everything else around us seems to be on the move.

We can find consolation that God changed Saul’s heart (1 Sam 10:9) and pray that God will change us or others around us. Life, however, has taught me that God only seems to act when we have done all that is expected of us and changed what we can change ourselves.

However long you have been a Christian, never lose your understanding of the horrible consequences of sin, un-dealt with it seriously damages every part of our life and health. We are extremely unwise if we make any compromise with sin or our attitude to it.

What makes us change? Pain, Pressure or Perspective is Rick Warren’s answer.

What should we change? If we think of the obvious again, the major components of our life include:-

• Our Career – the work/life balance. What I do and how I do it.

• Our Character – who I am and what I am becoming.

• Our Relationships – who I love and how I love them. We must avoid all use, misuse and abuse of anyone and everyone.

• Our Finances – why I spend, what I spend and how I manage.

• Our Spiritual Life – Who and what I worship and how I live.

If in any or all of these areas the Holy Spirit, the comment of our loved ones and friends or our own inner voice tells us that change is necessary, please heed the warning and however painful, change.

How Should I change?

The ABC of change* is easily remembered but harder to implement:-

• Assume responsibility for your life
• Believe you can change
• Clarify what you really ‘want’

“Don’t wait, stop saying later, when things settle down or one of these days. The time is now. Remember, the opportunity of a lifetime must be taken in the lifetime of opportunity”.**

It is time to make a decision. I believe that if you change what you can change, God will then change you. What an exciting possibility. Be sensible; don’t try to change everything immediately. What one or two things should you address this week? Make a start, you will never regret it.

Maybe the lessons of managing change also have application for our churches. If so, let us also make a start, millions of people could benefit!!

* Rick Warren
** Leonard Ravenhill