GET WITH THE PROGRAM

2 Corinthians 3:18
Hebrews 10:23-25

Programs, routines and regimens help us move through a recovery process toward our goal of wholeness.  It might be a special diet, a support group, an exercise program, physical therapy or counseling.   

Every kind of recovery process, including adapting to changes and a "new normal," benefits from adding a spiritual dimension to it.

We are Resurrection people.  We are a loved, forgiven, and changed people, and through the sanctifying work of the Holy spirit, we, "are being transformed into the same image [of Christ] from one degree of glory to another." (2 Corinthians 3:18).  Even in the changes of human life, God is capable of moving us from one level of wholeness in Christ to another.

During the travels of the Hebrews through the wilderness to the Promised Land, God was also leading them on a journey from one state of being to another.  They left Egypt as slaves who had lost their identity as heirs of God's promise to Abraham and progressed toward becoming the Covenant people of God, a holy nation called to bless the world and bear witness to God's love.

To help the people of Israel, God gave them a ten-step program, the Ten Commandments which Moses summarized as "You shall love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might (Deuteronomy 6:5)," and "You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18)."  Through this ten-step program, the Hebrew people would recover their relationship with God and learn how to live in loving community with each other.

As God's people, while  traveling through any kind of change, I'd like to suggest a three-step program.

Even though we are called to a changing people, change isn't so easy to cope with, even the change we've been looking forward to.  One of the hardest parts about change for me is that it plays havoc with my normal routines, the way I'm able to allocate time, and on my overall energy level, which affects the amount of time I spend with God.  Physical self-care is important when going through times of transition, and just as important is being very intentional and consistent in staying in community with God through worship, study of the Word and prayer and the practice of solitude.

So, step one is "Stay connected to God."

A common reaction I've observed in myself and other people who experience change through loss is the tendency to withdraw.  Solitude is important to process change and grief, but God created us to be in community with God and with other people.  Whether it's a twelve-step program, a support group, or diet program like Weight Watchers or Over Eaters Anonymous, it is about finding the encouragement, guidance and support through a community of peers that helps people move through the changes that lead them to a new normal and a new wholeness.

That's why step two is "Stay connected to your faith community."  Especially when churches are going through changes, it is so important that we seek ways to come together more often to encourage one another and to strengthen our relationships with one another, our church and our unity as one with Christ.

Step three is "Celebrate."  

Early Christians struggled with the change that resulted in their identity and status in their communities when they became Christians.  If they were Jewish Christians, they were banned from Jewish places of worship.  If they were gentile Christians, their families and neighbors regarded them as anti-social because they no longer when to the temples or the public games.  Like us today, they were trying to figure out how to be the church in their home communities which rejected them.  To them, Paul wrote in  Philippians 4:8, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice."  

I'm not talking about gritting our teeth and forcing a smile and say, "I'm all right!  Yippee!"when we're not.  Change is challenging; change is difficult; change is painful.  And it is okay not to feel all right about it.  

What I mean by celebrate is to be honest with God, ourselves and others about how we're feeling.  Then, every time I see God at work in the midst of change for my good, I say, "Thank you."  Every day that is better than the day before, I praise God.  It is by celebrating the little successes that help us through recovery to reach a new normal of healing and wholeness.

Stay connected to God.

Stay connected to your faith community.

Celebrate.

We are Resurrection people.  We are a loved, forgiven, and changed people, and through the sanctifying work of the Holy spirit, we, "are being transformed into the same image [of Christ] from one degree of glory to another."