Sometimes in our life, we need to change direction, whether that is in our career, with our health, in our roles at church or just in our attitudes. Nearly always this is difficult to do. I don’t know about you but most times I don’t like change unless I have had time to process it and have prepared myself for it. That’s why I tend to dig in my heels and not want to move and generally the decision to change direction can be very painful for me. In this, I have come to realise that it is generally my pride and my self worth that is being wounded. So how can we all change direction successfully!
In Deuteronomy 1, God told Moses the Israelites had been at the mountain long enough. The prelude to this is that the Israelites left Egypt to go towards their promised land. On the way, they reached the promised land but because most of them were scared and didn’t trust in God, they had to then walk in the wilderness for about forty years. After going around and around, God spoke the words to Moses in the opening sentence of this paragraph. It was now time to again take possession of the promised land.
The elements for successfully changing that direction were:
1. A deep trust in God – if we don’t trust God when our direction changes, we will get lost and confused and won’t believe that the best is yet to come. Often, a change of direction brings us closer to our promise.
2. Knowing the Word of God – before the Israelites went into the promised land, Moses again read out the law to them and told them to choose whether they would serve God or not. We need to know our change of direction is from God and then remind ourselves often of His promises to us because when the direction changes, often nothing else does for a while.
3. Have a good mentor/ leader – Moses wasn’t allowed in the promised land due to sinning against God but God didn’t want the Israelites floundering so God appointed a new leader in Joshua. Similarly when we change direction, God will provide for us a good leader and mentor to guide us through. Someone you can trust and can help you along the way. Maybe you are that person for someone else.
So the next time, you find yourself changing direction, don’t fret but trust in God, in his Word and find a mentor. This journey, although scary, is full of possibilities and new beginnings. So just do it and keep journeying on in this amazing life God intended for you to live.
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