What Is Will Never Always Be

It was 5:30pm at the end of a very normal mid-week workday. I was just about to leave my office when I got a call from my brother, Tedd. Tedd is a very level person. If plan A doesn’t work, he is always able to conceive plan B and C all the way to triple Z. He seldom seems distressed or out of sorts.

But this call was different. The minute I heard his voice, I knew something was very wrong.

What broke that day would forever change us, our family, and everything about it. One conversation, and life had forever changed. We were all shocked. It was a turn in the story that we did not see coming and were ill-prepared to face.

In an instant, it seemed like I had not only lost my family history, but I had lost my identity as well.

For every human being old enough to have made plans for how they want their life to look, two things are true.

First, your life up to this point has not worked out according to the plans you made.

Second, the remainder of your life will not work out according to the plans you are currently making.

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” (James 4:13–14).

One of the reasons we experience crises as we get older is because we forget or ignore what the Bible has to say about life.

Of course, we will experience circumstantial crises (an event that happens to us), but I’m talking about our interpretation of that crisis, and how we can prepare for the inevitable crises of life that will hit.

I said last week that we all tend to fall into believing that what is will always be. That is never the case! Romans 8:20–23 tells us that all of creation is in a state of decay, and as human beings, we are always in some kind of process of change.

One of the stark differences between the Creator and the creation is that everything on this side of the line is always in some state of change, while God is constant in his unchangeableness.

“For I the Lord do not change” (Malachi 3:6)

“With whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17)

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

Simultaneously, the Bible presents every other aspect of life as ever-changing. Rulers rise up and are cast down. The grass fades and the flowers wither. Young become old. Generations give way to generations. All that has been created will be different in some way tomorrow.

Anticipating change is an essential part of life.

So much of the discouragement and disorientation we experience as we experience the crises of getting older is because we have not anticipated or prepared for inevitable change.

The primary trouble with getting older is not the actual journey from young to old, although that certainly brings its troubles! Rather, the primary trouble with getting older is that we trouble our own trouble with unrealistic expectations and unbiblical thinking.

We must always live with the recognition and preparedness that there will be twists and turns that were never part of our plan for our lives.

Your life won’t turn out the way you planned because God is the Author of your story. Your life won’t work out according to your plan because your individual story is part of a greater story.

The central character of that story is sovereign over each detail of our stories, and he is writing something far better than you could ever plan for yourself!

Are you prepared for the unplanned of getting older?

A Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to process each day as I get older in a way that is realistic and biblical. God, if I’m honest, there are multiple parts of my life that usher in disappointment, discouragement, and disorientation, and I know that it’s because I wrestle with the desire to control my own life. Help me to continually place you at the center of my story, because I know you’re infinitely more wise and capable than I am. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Discussion Prompt for Children

1. What does it mean to be in control? What do you have control over? What do I have control over? What do you think God has control over?

2. Why is it so important to know that God isn’t surprised by anything, at all, at any time?

3. What are expectations? How do our expectations shape the way we respond to things in this world? How can we give those expectations to God?

Reflection Questions

1. Why are your interpretations of circumstances more influential in your life than the circumstances themselves? In what ways have you experienced this (be specific)?

2. What has been the primary influence on how you typically interpret crisis or trouble? In what ways have you allowed Scripture to influence your interpretations of life’s circumstances and troubles? When you think about the disappointment and disorientation you experienced when a crisis has entered your door, what were the expectations you had that led to your disappointment and disorientation?

3. How can you prepare and anticipate the inevitably of change in life? Why do you think anticipation of change is an essential part of life?

4. How can you practically lay your life before the Author of your story each and every day? What would that look like for you? Why might that be scary for you? Why might it be freeing? How can it be a form of worship?