Who Is Ready For Change

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

FOR FORTY YEARS, I wore my hair in a simple bob. Deciding it might finally be time for a change, I told a stylist who had just returned from a big hairstyling conference to “do something different.” I gave her complete freedom to do whatever was new and exciting, sure that I would love it. Once she laid down her shears and spun me toward the mirror, I put my glasses back on, eager to see what she had done.

Fresh from the conference, this hairstylist had taken my words to heart and with great freedom had given me the most outlandish haircut I have ever had in my entire life. I had pointy hair in every direction in a very strange shade of purplish red.

I hadn’t quite processed how different it looked until I went to the elementary school to pick up my daughter. When she and the other students saw me, my daughter’s little friend started crying and said, “Change it back!” with big sobs. I think my new look actually scared her!

I have thought about this many times over the years. There is an old saying that change is the one thing you can count on. It is not always something we look forward to, however. Sometimes it can be quite upsetting, particularly when we discover that something we thought was in our power is actually beyond our control. Change can be fun and exciting. But change can also be scary.

Momma, if you’re waiting for the Lord to step in and do something new, take heart in remembering that He is never surprised. While change might be unplanned, we have the Lord working out the details.

The prophet Jeremiah reassured the Jewish exiles in Babylon with these words from God: “‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” His heart toward us is just as loving and good. Tonight let’s give God permission to do whatever He thinks is best and trust that whatever the outcome, He has a hope and future for us that is good.

Tonight we pray for the momma who is ready for change. Lord, she is caught in an endless cycle and just needs to know it won’t always be this way. She is seeking help or hope or fresh happiness. She needs to see that it won’t always be as hard or exhausting as it is right now. Lord, send Your Spirit to bring fresh winds of change. Help her believe as she goes to sleep tonight that tomorrow everything could be different in the best possible way. Address every anxiety and give this momma hope tonight. Fill her heart with peace.

We ask in Jesus’s name, amen.

Father, send Your Spirit to help me with change in this area: