Found On The Outer?

Finding ourselves on the outer—placed surreptitiously on the backburner; transferred there—elicits shock. Suddenly there is an adjustment required. It’s over to us even though we had no choice in the matter. We, and not the ‘change agents’, have to make the most of it. Sound or feel familiar?

Change thrusts us into the spotlight or away from it—neither location, most often, we go to by choice.

The first temptation is to fret.

“Don’t fret.”

That’s what our logical minds and close wise advisors are saying. But somehow we do—we continue to grapple with the facts as they are. Nothing’s changing the facts. ‘The world’ is different now. It’ll never be the same. And although we generally don’t mind change, these particular changes have been asserted over us—welcome to the corporate reality.

In golfing terms, that’s the outward nine dealt with. Now for the much more welcoming inward nine.

Finding Favour Within

Whenever we find God’s will and then go that way we find favour within.

The change that has been foisted upon us is not only visible as a threat, but an opportunity also. Threats can be veiled as opportunities just as opportunities can be veiled as threats. This is, of a sense, not just about positive thinking; it’s about our mindset and our chosen eye-line, or what we choose to see.

God’s will is always about seeing the opportunity in the threat; the invisible light eking through the darkness. And there always is opportunity in threat, and light peering out of the darkness.

Finding favour within is about accepting what is good about the new and disregarding the good that was in the old. That’s easier said than done, of course.

But perhaps now we have less responsibility and more spare time and space. Maybe we feel less relevant, less important, even surplus to requirements.

Disregarding the overtures of our hurt hearts and capable minds to up and leave—to go on to a new thing, elsewhere—let’s not forget how quickly we can be subbed back into the game! Besides, adjustment is a finite process. We do ultimately adjust.

It really depends on whether we’ll embrace that adjustment or not. Can we absorb what it requires of us? And what will it cost? If we can bear the costs the transition time may very well be worth it.

Whatever we do we should earnestly look to do those things that help us find favour within, by finding favour with God, by discerning the will of the Lord (the best we can) and doing it the best we can.

© 2011 S. J. Wickham.