Exodus 33:1-3…And the Lord said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it: And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.

The Children of Israel were fed up with the changes they were being brought through. When Moses went up to the mountain, they turned to Aaron and asked him to make a golden calf, an idol they could worship just like they did back in Egypt. They would complain later on that they would rather be slaves in Egypt again than endure more journeying and uncertainty. Their uncertainty came from their refusal to accept their circumstances, their stiffnecked attitudes towards the journey God had set them on.

So they would rather worship a god they made with their own hands than the God who delivered them from the plagues and parted the Red Sea.

Following God requires a few things most people are afraid to do. Embracing the unknown, taking risks, and changing to meet the new challenges.

Therefore in our daily walk with the Lord, and in our personal, work and even church life  we have a choice: protect the status quo, or take the risks necessary to win decisively.

On a recent JOCKO Podcast, Jocko Willnick, a retired Navy Seal and Leadership Consultant said something that hit me square between the eyes. I wrote this in my notes app, and I hope I got the quote right. “Whenever you’re entering into a new venture, and make a plan, that is detailed somewhat rigid and exact, at best, your assessment, your goal is incomplete and inaccurate. You must be willing to reassess and adapt at every step throughout your  plan.”

Every day you wake up, there will be new challenges, different situations, and usually scary possibilities. Adapt. Overcome. Things will never be the same again. That’s a good thing. You will not be singing the same songs five years from now. You won’t be reading all the same books (except THE BOOK). You won’t even know the same people. Its an adventure. Don’t resist it. If you do, you might find yourself an idol worshipper. Bowing before a tradition, an opinion, a preference.

Remember ye not the former things,
neither consider the things of old.
Behold, I will do a new thing;
now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?
I will even make a way in the wilderness,
and rivers in the desert. -Isaiah 43:18, 19

Change is good.