Change 5 – Rate of Change

ByJim Stephens

Reading: Luke 8:26-39

Later, a great many people from the Gerasene countryside got together and asked Jesus to leave—too much change, too fast, and they were scared. So Jesus got back in the boat and set off.  (Luke 8:37 MSG)

Jesus’ demonstration of love set a demon-possessed man free and sent a herd of pigs into the lake. It was too much change, too fast, for the people of the community to take. People are wired in a lot of different ways—some won’t change, some resist change, some slowly change, some quickly change, and some are agents of change. No matter how we handle change, we can only take so much change so fast. This miracle exceeded their capacity for change. They asked him to leave. He left!

Rate of change for people is like rate of climb for an aircraft. An airplane has a certain amount of power, and a certain amount of weight to get off the ground. The power-to-weight ratio determines how rapidly you can climb. If you try to climb too fast, you’ll stall and crash! If you climb too slowly, you’ll hit the trees at the end of the runway! For us to change, it takes motivating force to move our weight of resistance to change. This force-to-resistance ratio determines how fast we can accept and process change without crashing into the ground or running into the trees!

The rate of change is increasing! With science-fiction-like advances in technology, increasing volume of communication, faster pace of life, 24/7 accessibility, things are changing so fast that it’s easy to feel like you’re about to stall out or run into the trees! We experience personal seasons of rapid change: Losing a job and finding another, forming or losing a relationship, becoming parents or empty-nesters, going out on our own or becoming dependent on others, starting a career or retiring. Change Happens Fast!

Here are some practical things we can do in seasons of accelerated change:

  • Take daily time for quiet and reflection: Quiet, Scripture, Thoughtfulness, Prayer.
  • Shed some things: Less news consumption, limit stressful interactions if you can.
  • Talk to someone you trust: Start now to build that relationship of trust.
  • Take it a day at a time, even an hour at a time. This too will pass!

Prayer:

Father, Sometimes the rate of change seems almost too much! By your grace, may we turn our faces into the winds of change so that they lift us and don’t push us down. It’s not on our own strength that we rely. Please give us the lift we need to keep from stalling or hitting the trees! In Jesus Name!