When God tells us "no" or "not yet-wait" we have to remember with faith that He intends everything for our good. (Jer 29:11 )  But what about when He asks us to do something we don’t understand, to give up something we don’t want to, or to move in a direction we don’t think we are ready for?  Have you ever told God "NO not that!"?  I would be surprised if you haven’t because I know I certainly have.  When we are walking with the Lord allowing Him to mold us we sometimes discover, even in trial, that there are things that the Lord asks of us that we really don’t want to do.  Much like when a child hears their mother or father say "go clean your room" or "its time to move on", we don’t want to go the direction the Lord is sending us because we are either comfortable where we are, or we are already dealing with enough change in our life to change anything else.

Like the child who doesn’t want to clean their room because they don’t see a problem with it, when we don’t want to change something because we are comfortable with the way it is, we fail to see the wisdom in what we are being asked to do.  If a child’s room is a mess, then they are going to step on something, lose something, or fail to learn how to keep other areas of their life in order.  When the Lord is asking us to change something, we need to recognize that in His wisdom He knows it needs changing. (Job 12:13 )   Also, if something does not fit with the kind of person the Lord intends us to be, He is going to remove it.  It may be that the thing He is trying to remove is something you keep "stepping" on.  Ask yourself if what God is asking you to give up keeps getting in the way of what you ought to be doing, and if it is then that is why He is asking you to give it up.  Like the child stepping on things, removing the obstacle is the wise thing to do.  Saying "no" is only going to prolong your ability to do what you ought to be doing, keeping another area of your life out of order.

If you say it isn’t an issue of comfort, but an issue of being overwhelmed with to much change already, it really is, at its core, still an issue of comfort.  When things in life are in turmoil, when something has rocked our life, we will grab onto what is familiar in an attempt to steady our feet.  We do this so that we can feel like not everything is spinning out of control, not everything has changed, and something is right.  Then we are asked by God to change something and we say "NO I can’t right now!" because we think enough has changed already, it can wait.  Like the parent who says to a child "its time to move on", God is letting you know it is OK to hold onto something different rather then that familiar thing that He is telling us is not like Him.  In trial God is going to mold us, we need to be willing to allow Him to do so.  When He asks us to give up something, it is because it is not like Him, not because He doesn’t want us to have something steady in our lives.  If you feel like you need that steady place to stand so you can’t give up what God is asking you to give up, know you can stand strong in Him. (Ps 61:3 , Pr 18:10 )  Even in trial God is going to ask us to move on, to keeping changing, to continue to be willing to stay on His Anvil in the molding process.

Is there anything in your life that you have said to God "NO not that!" about?  Ask yourself "why?".  Is it because you are comfortable with the way things are?  Is it because you think you need it to steady your life?  Is it becuase you don’t think in trial you can do it and still stand strong?  Is it getting in the way of what you ought to be doing?  Ask the Lord to give you the faith to remember that He knows what He is doing, and the courage and strength to say yes.

Everything changes right?  Isn’t that what everyone says, bands sing about, and books get written about?   There are at least 6 artists who have named a song or album "Everything Changes".   Do a book search on Amazon.com for "Everything Changes" and you get over 10,000 results for books!  I think people generally agree that things change.  It is a constant theme and people talk about it on a constant basis.  When was that last time you got together with a group of people and didn’t hear someone ask "whats new?"  We ask because we know things change.

So why then with God does it surprise us when He wants us to change?  We know that we are changing from our former selfs to our new selfs (Eph 4:22-24 ).  This is a time consuming process, not like changing our clothes or getting a haircut to change our appearance.  He is going to mold us for our entire lives, that is quite a long time.  We know He is going to keep molding us and He gave us a helper to remind us of what He said.  John 14:26 says "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." (John 14:26 NIV )   Part of the Holy Spirits very purpose is to abide in us, teach us, and guide us. (John 14:16 , John 14:26 , John 16:13 )

The Holy Spirit was given to us to help us see what in our life needs to change.  The Holy Spirit allows us to distinguish our old self from the new self, that which God wants to mold out of us so that we can be molded into what He wants us to be.  This is not always a very comfortable process.  We don’t always want to be molded.  There are sometimes parts of our lives that we would rather not have change.  We would rather believe not everything changes, and not everything needs to change!  There is only one issue with that thought, if God wants to change it, it needs to be on His Anvil.  I believe that God knows what is best for His creation (Gen 1:27 ).  We sometimes think God can’t change some part of us, yet He is capable of more then we can imagine because He is God, and He has given us the power of the Holy Spirit  (Eph 3:20 ).  At times we think God doesn’t know about that area–yet we fool ourselves (Heb 4:13 ).  We may believe that God is not big enough for some issue in our life.  God is big enough, bigger then we can fathom, for He is infinite (1 Kings 8:27 ).

Is there something in your life that you know is like your old self self and not your new self?  Is there something you know God wants to change but you are not letting Him?  Is it for one of these reasons, or some other reason you have come up with?  Well God is big enough, He does know whats best, and He is capable of changing us into our new selfs just as He promises.  Fool yourself no longer into thinking it doesn’t need to change.  As the Holy Spirit guides us through the process of molding we need to be listening.  I challenge you to drag whatever the Holy Spirit has made you aware needs changing unto Gods Anvil for Him to mold.  In prayer we can go to God and ask Him to change us, and He is faithful to do so.  After all, change is something we are in a constant process of with God, the process of constantly changing to be more like Him (Eph4:23-24 ).