Clergy/Leaders' Mail-list No. 1-108

Rod Benson helps dispel popular myths in a series of six sermons:

I can make changes in my life quickly and painlessly.

------------------------------------- HOW TO COPE WITH CHANGE (Part 2 of 2) -------------------------------------

The myth that we ought to be able to change our lives overnight is a myth that causes misery, and it's promoted by advertisers: buy this product, eat these vitamins, use this exercise machine, drive this car, read this book, attend this seminar, listen to this tape - and you'll be changed, instantly.

The truth is that, while change is necessary and inevitable, it's difficult and often slow, and it takes time and determination. Tonight I want to share with you the process God uses to change you, and how you and I can cooperate with God in process of changing our lives. When you understand the process, you can cooperate and make the right decisions that lead to personal growth.

The first step in the process God uses to bring about important change in our lives is concern. I get a sense that something is just not right; I'm worried, anxious, out of balance. Then comes step two: crisis. The heat is turned up, the pressure's on, and the pain gets so bad that I can't ignore it any more. Then along comes step three: a choice. Am I going to move ahead or retreat? Will it be fight or flight? Will I wake up to reality, or live in denial?

Then I need to move on to step four: comprehension - a new understanding of your problem. But I need to move on from intellectual assent to step five: conduct - where I act on what I know. In step four I'm working on my thoughts and attitudes; in step five it's my behaviour. Finally, I come to step six: a commitment to continue.

Chaim Weizmann, Russian-born Israeli statesman, inventor of the process of manufacturing acetone, and first President of the new Republic of Israel in 1949, conducted the negotiations leading up to the historic Belfour Declaration by which Britain declared its support for an independent Jewish state. Of that Declaration, Weizmann said:

"Something had been done for us which, after two thousand years of hope and yearning, would at last give us a resting place in this terrible world." It took 2000 years! It took something like 40 generations, but change eventually came. Each leader, each generation made the commitment to stay with it, and to remain committed to continuing the fight for a state recognised in the world order. Understanding and action will not bring about change unless I persevere.

That's the six-step process God uses to change us. How can you and I cooperate with God in process of changing our lives?

First, be alert to God's voice. The restlessness we often feel is God's way of getting us ready for change, as Job discovered: "God does speak - now one way, now another - though man may not perceive it. In a dream . . . as they slumber . . . (or) he may speak in their ears . . . with warnings . . . Or a man may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress" (Job 33:13-19). God speaks to us in many different ways; we just often don't realise it's him.

Step two: accept God's comfort when the crisis comes. "You (God) have listened to my troubles and have seen the crisis in my soul" (Psalm 31:7, LB).

Perhaps tonight you're in the crisis phase, and you need to do what Jonah did after he recovered from his terrible mistake of running from the Lord: "When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord" (Jonah 2:7).

In step three, ask for God's strength when you're facing unknown changes. "When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you (says God). When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up . . . " (Isaiah 43:2).

He's there with you in every step. There's no need to be afraid; you have the strength of God to draw on and give you courage to make the right choices.

In step four, apply God's word. The more you apply the truth to your life, the more free you will feel. "The whole Bible . . . is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realise what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right" (2 Timothy 3:16, LB). Knowledge without application is useless.

In step five, anticipate God's help. "Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him to help you do it, and he will" (Psalm 37:5, LB). Change is not a matter of willpower - it's a matter of God- power! Nothing is impossible for God. Today's impossibilities are tomorrow's miracles.

Finally, adhere to God's plan. Stick to it! Stay with it! Don't quit, don't give up. As Paul says in Galatians 6:9, "Let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't get discouraged and give up."

When things go wrong as they sometimes will, When the road you're trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low and the debts are high, And you want to smile but you have to sigh, When cares are pressing you down a bit, Rest if you must, but do not quit.

Life is strange in its twists and turns, As every one of us sometime learns, And many a failure comes about When we might have won had we stuck it out. Don't give up, though the pace seems slow - You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out, The silver tint of the clouds of doubt. You never can tell how close you are It may be near when it seems so far. So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit - It's when things are worst that you must not quit.

"Be confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6).

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E027 Copyright (c) 2001 Rod Benson. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: New International Version (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1980).

You can contact Rev Rod Benson by e-mail at <>. To subscribe direct to his weekly sermons, e-mail him with "subscribe" in the subject.