Friday, October 5

26 Tishri

A wise old sailor once said, “No one can change the direction of the wind. All you can do is adjust your sails.”It’s true: no person can turn a storm away or diminish its intensity. All one can do is adjust to it. Likewise, we can’t control everything that life throws at us; sometimes we are just forced to engage what it presents to us and adjust accordingly. Considering the times in which we live, it is fair to say that the winds of change are definitely blowing and there is very little that we can do to stop or change the direction of these contrary winds. Furthermore, these changes are not necessarily situations forced upon us by the world but much of it is, in fact, being orchestrated by our Father in heaven. His plans and purposes are the driving force behind much of the developments we are witnessing and, consequently, no one is stop it. If we are going to move with Him, we’ll have to adjust our sails.

It is important to consider that some of the methods and practices that have worked for us in the past may not work in the future. The way of thinking and living that has brought us to the place we are now, may prove to be insufficient for where God is taking us in the future. Specifically, changing times means we may need to reevaluate our relationship with God and just how committed we are to it. The depth of commitment that we’ve demonstrated in the past that has brought us to this point might not be enough to carry us through what is coming upon the earth.

In other words, if we are drawing closer to the “restitution of all things”(Acts 3:21),wewill need to draw closer to Him than ever before. If in the past we have served Him in a half-hearted fashion, changing times dictate that we must now follow Him wholeheartedly. Adjusting our sails means that we need to draw ever closer to Him, that we may hear His voice above the roar of the storm. Adjusting our sailsmeans that, even though we can’t see all that lies before us, His Spirit will direct us to where we’re supposed to be so that we can do what we’ve been placed here to do. The Body of Messiah can’t afford to dig our heelsinto our traditions and ways of the past, thinking that it will be sufficient for the call upon the end times Church. We must be sensitive to the direction of the Wind.

Living in the last days means that we will have to make significant adjustments in our personal lives, in our families, congregations and ministries. Already there are those who sense the changing winds and are responding to it accordingly. What that means for you, specifically, can only be revealed to YOU by His Spirit. So, don’t be discouraged by the winds of change, be encouraged and be challenged by what He is calling you to be.

Shalom.