When the wind of change blows, some build walls while others build windmills

I love this chinese proverb!

Change is a ruthless beast. It can come as a part of a plan but more often then not change is forced upon us.

I hate change (this has a deep psychological meaning apparently but we won't go into that here and now!) I once had the same car for 12 years until the local garage gently broke the news to me that it really was time to stop trying to keep it on the road. I cried over that car going.

Changing cars is quite a small challenge, and really should be quite exciting. A new car is something that a lot of people look forward to. Even if it is usually quite a big expense.

Change usually comes at a cost, financial or personal; going on a diet, having to do more excercise, giving up smoking, giving up alcohol, moving away from a particular social circle - all have implications. Usually not very good ones. At least at first.

Another part of life we have to change frequently are our plans - when we were going in one direction and life takes us in another. So are you a wall builder or a windmill builder? Do you put up barriers for protection or do you embrace the opportunity?

Living with a vibrant faith which inspires and thrives means that challenges and changes can be met head on. With God on our side there is no need for fear - the bible says:

Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

So we can quite simply hand stuff over to God and say "here - you can deal with this God". We can also be even braver and more bold and say "inspire me! take me to a new place in my life!"

Although whatever change is going on around us might not have been in our original plan, as the saying goes "life is what happens when we are busy making other plans." The important part of change is to prosper within it and find our feet on the new ground.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Handing that life over to God is not losing control, it is standing in a great (sometimes unfamiliar and potentially overwheming) space, arms outstretched and saying "I will take this and make it brilliant".

For the Jesus geeks, you should already know those references as they are so very well used! But they are Isaiah 41:10 (New American Standard Bible) and Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version)

When the going gets tough the tough get... joyful?

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

I have had plenty of trials, and have demonstrated plenty of perseverence. As I don't feel particularly mature and complete I can only assume those trails and perseverence days aren't over yet. If I'm honest, when the burnt out washing machine spewed its festering watery guts up over the kitchen floor I wasn't filled with joy. When people in church discourages me (again) I am not filled with joy. When I watched someone I loved and adored dying from cancer there was no joy.

But what James (the one wrote those words) is saying is that the joy comes when you realise your strength. James had quite a famous brother. Someone who toured, drawing crowds, inviting attention. Then later persecution. Then execution. James will have known trials and difficulties.

I don't know anyone who became wise by having a great time. Wisdom seems to come from a place where tears are shed, dark places that require perseverence. Asking God for wisdom might be inviting a challenge. Don't go into that challenge expecting an easy ride. Expect more of a rollercoaster. And remember that the wisdom or joy does not come in the moment of difficulty, it comes from holding on tight, to God. Firmly, tightly - like you hold on to that safety bar on the rollercoaster. Only afterward - after you felt God steadying you, can you feel stronger and reflect on how you didn't cave in during a tought time. That is faith. Not a hands in the air, Sunday morning, type of faith - but a real, raw, grisly faith. And somewhere in there is a joy. I hope you find it.

For the Jesus geeks, the verses are from the first chapter of James.