There are some times that I wonder why I even write on this blog. Very rarely do I even get a comment on what I have written, but for some reason I do keep writing. Although I do not update it as much as I should, (considering my last post was about Easter and here it is July) I am trying to do some better this year. Oh well, here is another futile attempt at blogging.
The subject I would like to deal with today is "change". Many times change is both needed and necessary. However, there are times in which change just for change sake is not a good thing. In Ecclesiastes, the Bible talks about there being "times" or transitions in our lives - a time to live, a time to laugh, a time to dance etc. Although these times of transitions are apart of life, often we ascribe change to being a "God" thing when in reality it is our own self that desires the change.
I have been in pastoral ministry for some 20 years and have heard this statement more than on one occasion, "Pastor, God has been dealing with me about some changes that I need to make". On the surface this sounds like a great confession, however it usually ends with "God is leading me elsewhere". Why would God lead people away from a particular church just so they could make changes? I would like to submit that many times people use the "God is leading me" card, simply because they want to ascribe something spiritual to something that is a matter of their own free will and choices.
Why not simply be honest and say, "I want to leave because I want to." As a pastor this provides for an opportunity to counsel with an individual on the subject of God's will and listening to the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit in our lives. But when the "God is leading me" card is played that shuts the door for any counseling opportunity. So, I simply want to say if it is God's leading then so be it however, don't play the "God is leading" me card when in reality it is our will and God has nothing to do with it.
