Five Ways to Face the Fear of Change
Five Ways to Face the Fear of Change
We all face change. You can’t avoid it. Because of that, we all face the fear of change.
“We fear that change will put a spotlight on our greatest weakness. The fear of change can stop us cold. ”
Change is built into our life experience as we make natural transitions from one stage of life to the next. We move from grade school to middle school. From middle school to high school. From high school to college.
Then we move from college to career (hopefully) and then possibly to marriage. Some of us will have kids and those that do eventually face the transition to an empty nest. We experience the change of our parents aging and eventually losing them. And then we face retirement and, of course, the ultimate transition: death.
These are just the normal changes. There are all the other changes that life throws at you: both good and bad: promotions and layoffs, divorce and remarriage. There’s financial and health setbacks as well as comebacks.
We change our homes. We change our locations. And there are the changes that take place when we lose a loved one.
The Fear of Change
Every change evokes its own special set of fears because we’re not so sure we’re going to LIKE what’s on the other side of change. And maybe worse yet, we’re not so sure we’ll be able to HANDLE or SURVIVE the change. We’re afraid that we won’t prove to be as competent as we are on this side. Or we fear we won’t be as successful or attractive or comfortable or have as much control as we do now.
We fear that change will put a spotlight on our greatest weakness. The fear of change can stop us cold.
Resisting Change
Because of these fears we often resist change. When we are comfortable we’ll do just about anything we can to avoid change. We’ll ignore it. We’ll drag our feet. We’ll definitely complain about it. We’ll attack the person leading change. We’ll even try to sabotage change.
But in spite of our best efforts, some change is unavoidable. For this reason we need to learn how to face the change as well as the fear of change.
How to Face the Fear of Change
Anticipate change.
A lot of change we should see coming. I know parents that melt down when their kids leave for college. But really, didn't they see that change coming? I realize that some change comes out of nowhere. But much of it can be anticipated. So stay alert. Look down the road and prepare for the obvious.
Understand God’s perspective on change.
God is never surprised by change. He's never unprepared. He has Plan B, C, and Z waiting for you. He's never boxed in. He can make good out of anything. So see things from God's perspective and then...
Trust God.
I know. That's practically a cliche. But change is the best time to have your faith tested. Sit back and watch God give you what you need to handle the change. No matter what the change is that you are facing today, God’s got your back. You might not trust your new setting or circumstances, but you can always trust God to be with you and to help you through your time of change.
Focus on the gains and grieve the losses.
Both are important. Don't look for the sky to fall. Expect God to come through for you...maybe not like you'd like...but ending on top of the pile and not under it. Yet that doesn't mean there won't be any losses. You need to grieve your losses and not just fake your way through it. That approach will come back to haunt you.
Embrace the change.
Some people let change paralyze them. They refuse to move forward. People do this all the time.
Think about the college student that is so afraid of change that she just sits in her dorm room Facebooking her high schools friends back home rather than engage in her new college life.
Or think of the new dad that is so afraid of being a bad dad that he turns over all of the parenting responsibilities to his wife. Max Lucado says this about facing change:
…make friends with whatever’s next. Embrace it. Accept it. Don’t resist it. Change is not only a part of life; change is a necessary part of God’s strategy. FEARLESS
Your Defining Moment
Whatever the change is in front of you, it might be a defining moment in your life. God might be calling you to do something that will change your life forever. This could be your turning point. So don’t shrink back. Don’t miss the opportunity. God will be with you in your change and he’ll show you the good things about the change, if you let him.
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