When Change Comes

We live in a world that is constantly changing. Some changes are welcome, while others arrive without warning—uninvited, unsettling, and difficult to accept. There are moments when we simply do not know how to handle what is unfolding before us.

The psalmist David speaks to this reality of change—“those changes we least expect, changes that disturb, unhinge our plans and arrangements, and frustrate our hope” (Herbert Lockyer). When you find yourself facing change, where do you turn? Do you try to handle it on your own, or do you draw closer to God?

Lockyer reminds us of a powerful truth: “The paradox of faith, however, is that we are built up by being broken.” That is not an easy word to receive, but it is a necessary one. I come to encourage you today that when life brings unexpected change—and even when it brings anticipated change—the first place we should seek is God.

Lockyer writes, “God does by undoing; He makes as He breaks. Reverses and changes are tools for the shaping of character. Change is a phase of divine ministry. God takes us back to move us forward. The waves go out and return with fuller.” What a comforting reminder that nothing we experience is wasted in God’s hands. Even the moments that feel like setbacks are often divine preparation.

Although we may experience seasons of change, there is One who never changes. Our Heavenly Father is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore. His love remains steady. His character remains faithful. His purpose for us remains secure. In the midst of life’s shifting landscapes, God invites us to draw closer to Him. When we seek Him, He embraces us fully and meets us with His presence, peace, and strength.

God is without change—and that is our anchor.

I want to close with this beautiful prayer often attributed to Francis of Assisi, a reminder of how God’s unchanging love can flow through us even as the world around us shifts:

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

May this week, no matter what changes you face, you find peace in the God who never changes. 💛