Yes, Again: Change by Marian Frizzell
“You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. You will increase my greatness and comfort me again” (Psalm 71:20-21).
They say the only constant in life is change. As a military wife, I think that may be spot on. Every couple of years, we pack our boxes and move. Make new friends. Explore a new town. Put down new roots. Everything changes—and most of the time, the changes are hard.
Every move, I remind myself: you’ve done it before; you can do it again. You survived last time (and all the times before); you’ll survive again. You made it from point A to point B (and didn’t lose any of the kids or pets); you can do it again.
And then God gives verses like the ones above to remind me that He promises far more than mere survival.
Yes, there will be troubles and calamities—changes we don’t want, that come from His hand for our growth and for His glory—but He promises life. Yes, some of those changes may bring us to places we don’t want to go (when it seems that our deep lows will bury us)—but He’s not going to leave us there. He’s going to use these changes to do far more in us than we could ever expect. And He promises us comfort in the changes as they come.
Often, we face change with the attitude of “Oh, no, Lord; not again.” Not another move. Not another job loss. Not another heartbreak.
And He says to us, “Yes, beloved, again. Again I will revive you. Again I will bring you up. Again I will use this to increase you (My way!). Again I will comfort you—in this moment and in all the ones to come.”
Always, He is far more constant than the constant of change. He has promised to be with us in all the changes that come our way—and we can trust in His promises. We can trust that He’s not just changing our circumstances, but that He’s changing us—making us more like His Son, more like the person He intended us to be, more capable of enjoying Him fully.
Again and again and again. Because He loves us. Because He wants more for us than we want for ourselves. Because He sees who we can be in His presence. Because He sees change as an opportunity for growth, an opportunity for nearness, an opportunity for more of Him.
Prayer: Lord, in my season of change, help me to trust that You are working. Help me to see how the changes in my circumstances can bring changes in my soul. Teach me to give thanks–not because what You’ve given is easy but because what You are giving is Yourself.
Dig Deeper: My favorite verses when we move are the ones about God being with us (Exodus 33:14), going before us (Deuteronomy 31:8), and preparing the way for us (Isaiah 45:2). Take time to look for verses (these and many others) that remind you of the relational presence of Emmanuel—God with us. No change that comes is unexpected to Him, and He uses each change to give us Himself.
Discussion Questions:
1. What change in your path is God using to invite you to a change in perspective or change in priority?
2. How can you use the changes you’re experiencing (no matter how small or how large) to propel you deeper into God’s presence and lean into Him further, rather than let them make you doubt His goodness and miss out on the benefit of His comfort?
About Marian Frizzell
Marian Frizzell entertains herself by bopping from one side of the US to the other with her military husband and their myriad military children. When she’s not unpacking the five hundred boxes of books she insists on owning, she homeschools aforementioned children (making sure to teach them about the country where she grew up), writes books she hopes will one day get published (and keeps up a blog), goes running to maintain her sanity (what’s left of it), and strives to encourage those around her (making them laugh is a bonus). She loves Jesus and wants to reflect his light.
