Unless you’ve been hibernating, you’re aware of the unprecedented Global Pandemic that has left no life unaffected – anywhere in the world! Any cracks in our collective foundation are being stress-tested, and oh boy are people freaking out – ask any cashier or barista- if they are still working!
Like being in a movie, the drama is played right before our eyes. We’ve been watching a media windstorm of confusion as world leaders and journalists scrambled to define the chaos. Scientists have been tracking the genetic footprint, trying to wrestle this “unseen enemy” creeping through the world’s people groups.
We’ve been instructed to self-isolate and try not to share our germs. As the storm continues to brew, we’ve needed to discover a new rhythm to daily living and, along with that, discover some level of soul peace.
As a life coach, I have sought the Lord to know how to serve my clients best. Partly to that end, I’ve been focusing a great deal of attention on two areas of study:
1. The Macarena Dance
2. The Nature of Change
The first is a work in progress, but the second is calming my inner storms. Rhythm still eludes me, but a serious consideration of God’s nature is highly centering to me. Like dancing on an ice-covered lake, my faith isn’t resting on my ability to take a risk but in the knowledge of how thick the ice is.
Let me explain:
God is Bigger than ALL of this chaos, and discovering His Presence is like floating in an Ocean of Love. The peace you discover settles your inner storm even when nothing makes sense.
Paul the Apostle-Mentor of the early church understood this when he wrote:
Don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing. Be saturated in prayer throughout each day, offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude. Tell him every detail of your life, and then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding will make the answers known through Jesus Christ. (Philippians 4:5 TPT)
In other words, unsettling circumstances DON’T have to make sense for us to TRUST God. We need to get His perspective on all this mess.
In coaching, we often observe many people not effectively confronting change. Many are victims of change. Some dread change, while others refuse to accept it. This is obviously a formula for frustration and depression.
The issue for us is not only some of the changes happening but also how we respond to them. When the pace of change outside an individual or organization becomes more significant than the pace of change on the inside, the end of peace and any sense of order is near.
So, the problem isn’t about change; it’s about transition. Change is situational, while transition, on the other hand, is psychological. How quickly are we adapting to the changes that are happening around us?
Another critical question is how connected we are to God’s purpose for our lives. Knowing our purpose will serve as an inner compass while the howling storms of change rage. Can we reorient ourselves and redirect our thinking to align with God’s perspective?
According to scripture, time was created to give eternity a temporary measure that manifests in seasons and years. Therefore, the creation of time became the source of change, and it was to measure the purposes of God. (See: Genesis 1:14 & Eccl 3:1)
If we can grasp this, we will avoid being caught up in the stress so commonly associated with change. Keep eternity in your heart, and you won’t get caught up in the present storms.
The story of Jesus napping in a boat during a storm highlighted two essential truths that will help us greatly during seasons of change.
One is that we need to learn how to rest, reorient, and anchor ourselves to God’s eternal purposes. Jesus knew He was to go on the other side of the lake. Bill Johnson quipped, “You’ll have no authority over storms you can’t sleep in.”
The other truth is that we have to know when to rise bravely from the limitations that have defined us and begin acting with authority to seize the opportunities that are before us. The world will need wise guides to help it boldly navigate its way into the future.
Brene Brown reminds us that being brave “requires us to be vulnerable.” We experience vulnerability when releasing attachments to the familiar during raging storms of perplexity as we struggle to reorient our affections to the eternal purposes of God.
Bravery is often seen as the product of ignorance. It is easy to jump into the ocean if you don’t know that sharks exist. Boldness, conversely, is the product of knowledge and conscious thought.
Boldness is being fearless before a known enemy and moving forward through the obstacles your choice will present. It is the product of conviction, passion, and boundless hope, and that is linked to God’s eternal purposes for our generation.
We have learned to rest; now, we must have the boldness to act.
