When I find myself, like now, in the midst of chaos and change, I often spend a lot of my time looking backwards. I want to know how I got here! I need to understand what signs I missed so the next time I will not be surprised. I do everything I can to learn from yesterday so I can be in control of tomorrow.
I waste a lot of my time.
We live in a time of unprecedented change. Everything is moving in ways that are faster, unpredictable, and overwhelming. The problems we face today are different. We do not have any obvious answers that we can use with confidence. We are not sure if things will get worse before they get better. We are struggling to keep things going, often feeling like there is a wave that is on the verge of overwhelming everyone.
As uncertain and changing as everything is, every generation has faced its own unknown. Some handled it differently than others. In one generation, “sent off on their new assignment by the Holy Spirit, Barnabas and Saul went down to Seleucia and caught a ship for Cyprus. The first thing they did when they put in at Salamis was preach God's Word in the Jewish meeting places.” (Acts 13.4) Barnabas and Saul were new to this. They had no idea what the right answer was so they used their minds and got to business.
Their example can help us today.
We can let go of the things outside our control.
We can accept the uncertainty and change we face while holding hands with Courage.
We can choose to work with the Spirit’s leading.
We can use our minds to address the opportunities in the moment at hand.
We can take action.
The fact that we can do many things is a clich? we hear frequently. There is no guilt motivation intended in my remarks. I am reminding you and my soul that the opportunities to make a difference are here. We can step into them and be the change today.
