One of life’s certainties is the inevitability of change, and yet there is in most people a natural resistance to change. A lot of folks resist change because it threatens stability and oftentimes their comfort zones. However, change can be a means of spiritual maturity when it’s embraced by faith as an opportunity to grow. Here are three ways you can choose to see change that will help you embrace it.

1) Change is good when it comes to us by the will of God.

Because He loves you, the unchanging God may alter your circumstances. He may allow you to lose your job or your health, or he may permit some personal tragedy that hurls major changes into your life. As believers, we must follow God’s leading in our lives knowing his will is always “good, acceptable, and perfect.” (Romans 12:2) Through knowledge of His Word, a strong prayer life, and the promptings of the Holy Spirit, you can prepare yourself for change so that it won’t overwhelm you when it happens. You will experience the assurance of knowing his plans are “for our welfare and not for evil.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Through knowledge of His Word, a strong prayer life, and the promptings of the Holy Spirit, you can prepare yourself for change so that it won’t overwhelm you when it happens.

2) Change is good when it forces you to adapt to a new situation.

Our best tends to come out when we accept new challenges. Perhaps you’re thrust into a leadership role before you think you’re ready. You’re forced to adapt and find yourself looking to the Lord for wisdom, courage, and strength. Change forces us to draw upon resources we never knew we had. Exercise works in the same way: after challenging your muscles in the gym, your body adapts. In order to get stronger, you have to experience weakness.

3) Change is good when it opens the door to new adventures.

Judith and I always said we could never start a church. We felt that we weren’t cut out to be church planters. But in 2002, God made it clear to me that we should plant a church, and we did. Faith Family Church is now 16 years old. How many blessings I would have missed had I resisted the change! How many wonderful people I would never have met! Granted, there were times of discouragement and trial, but we pressed on by faith. An older pastor once told, “Never doubt in the dark what God showed you in the light.” Faith Family has been an adventure that continues to bless and motivate me.

The next time the Lord brings major change into your life, don’t fear or resist it. Instead, embrace it as an opportunity for growth and blessing. As I’ve said before, the will of God may be a rocky road but it’s never a dead end street.