A head on collision course

Someone once said the best time to change is before you actually have to. I would say that is usually the best way to embrace change - when you desire it rather than when it is forced upon you as the only option. Scripture reminds us to allow God to examine us from time to time, knowing full-well that he will observe something within our character that doesn't quite match what he expects to see of one who draws near to him. He will then set out to work on it, but that work goes much easier when we have asked God to begin it rather than waiting for him to point it out once we have already headed down some road of compromise!

"God, examine me and know my mind. Test me and know all my worries. Make sure that I am not going the wrong way. Lead me on the path that has always been right. (Psalm 139:23-24)

We all know there are things within our character that don't quite 'measure up' when we hold them up to the example Christ set for us, or what we see modeled by others who God has used in scripture. We might realize we haven't even hit the target, much less the bullseye! When those times come, the next thing we might do is try to tell God why it was too hard for us to embrace the needed change. It isn't all that easy to argue our way out of change, though! If we don't want to embrace it now, we will embrace it later on because God isn't going to allow it to just go unchanged. He will work in another way, and it may not be as easy to go through as when he first pointed out something within us that required some work.

Now lest you think you are the only one who argues with God when he seeks to change something within you, think again. I am right there in that boat with you. We might even be 'rowing partners' in the excuses boat on occasion. Change isn't easy and it usually deals with something we don't want to face head on. I have to ask - if we saw a car heading down the road at a high speed right there in our lane, would we be inclined to veer away from that oncoming car? Of course! So, why do we resist God's request for us to 'veer' from our course with whatever it is that is about to cause a 'compromise collision' in our lives? We might not realize it, but playing 'chicken' with sin isn't EVER going to end well.

Change before you need to change - that is a lofty goal, but one I think begins with a simple prayer to ask God to show us where we might be compromising in our daily walk. When he begins to reveal those tiny compromises that will eventually lead to the bigger ones, it is the right time to ask him to help us to work on them one by one until we no longer need to deal with them. Just sayin!