Many of us are creatures of habit and we don’t respond well to change.  If  change is to occur, we want to be the initiator of it and take the time that we need to adjust to it.  But change is something that happens to all of us, and we are not always ready for it. Life is about change. It is about growth and progress, not about remaining static.

     When change occurs and we become uncertain, our whole sense of well being is thrown out of  balance.  The Psalms testify to this uncertainty.  Walter Brueggemann, building upon concepts put forth by Paul Ricoeur, writes, The human organism struggles to maintain some kind of equilibrium in his or her life.  That sense of holistic orientation, of being “at home”, is a gift that is given and not forced, yet we struggle to it, fight for it, resist losing it, and regularly deny its loss when it is gone. Two movements in human life are important: (a) deep reluctance to let loose of a world that has passed away, and (b) capacity to embrace a new world being given.  Brueggemann, uses this to suggest a pattern found in the Psalms: Orientation, disorientation, and reorientation.

     Much of the book of Psalms include a lament.  The children of Israel are in places of disorientation.  Their “shalom”, has been disrupted.  They are experiencing change and crisis and by God’s steadfast love and mercy, they are being moved to a place or re-orientation.  As we read the Psalms we can clearly hear the struggle that occurs for them in the process of change.  We too experience the very same thing.  The process can be painful and depending upon the situation lengthy.

     Each one of us move through these changes and seemly find our way by God’s grace.  To get to these new places of balance and stability requires us to stay close and honest with God.  We need to be real in the way in which we express what is happening to us and how we feel about it.  We need to trust that God knows us and knows what is for our good.  We also need to stay close and honest with our church communities as we don’t go through these situations in isolation.  God put us in community for this as well.

     As we move from a situation of balance and orientation to a place of re-orientation, we begin to experience peace in the process. The process of change has effected us in a multitude of areas.  We may change physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. With these changes comes a nearness to God, from which we can boldly exclaim as the Psalmist, praise and thanksgiving.

     How has God changed you?  In what ways has God drawn near to you in the process of change?  What have you learned about yourself and God through it all?

Picture: Sunrise. Today. Drama, by Eye of Einstein

Quote: Walter Brueggemann, The Psalms & the Life of Faith, ed. Patrick D. Miller