OPEN TO CHANGE

2 Kings 22:2 “Josiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.”

Back in 1980, there was a guy, who was called Mountain Jack. He had been living on Mount Saint Helens for almost all his life. Mountain Jack was a true mountain man in every sense of the word. Then one day a geologist came and explained to him that he was living in danger. They told him that according to their records, Mount Saint Helens was an active volcano and that it could erupt at any moment and destroy everything for miles.

Mountain Jack explained to the geologist, “I have been on the mountain for years, and no little rumbling in the ground is about to scare me off. I have heard rumblings long time before and nothing happened. I appreciate your concern, but I will be staying put.” On May 18th, 1980, Mount Saint Helens exploded with such a force that it blacked out the sun for many cities in the west. Mountain Jack was never seen or heard from again.

Have you ever been in a situation in your own life, where you didn’t make a change when you should have, and it has cost you dearly? Sometimes people may have even come up to you and suggested that you change, take a different course of action, let that person go, move out the house, go back to school, but for one reason or another, you decided not to make the change. The only problem is you know now that you have missed out on an opportunity that could really have made a difference in your life. The good news is that Jesus Christ can still help you to make the change you need, to get back charge of your life.

Sometimes, we need to make a change, and we do not know it. We can be deceived by all the good things that are going on around us and think that it’s going to last forever. But in reality the world around us is changing, circumstances are changing, and we ourselves are changing. Change is an inevitable part of life. We have to make choices everyday, and the choices we make today are going to affect us for a very long time to come.

Josiah became the king of Judah under odd circumstances, but the nation itself was enjoying a relatively peaceful time. First of all the nation was at peace with its neighbors so times were pretty good. The economy seemed to be doing all right. The people were very relaxed in their relationship to God because there was no pressing emergency.

Some time into his reign, however, Josiah realized the moral decay of his nation and he began to seek the Lord. At age 16, Josiah recognized that he needed a change in his own life. The funny thing is that on the outside, he pretty much had all that he could want at age 16. What curfew do you give to the king? What allowance do you give to the king? What girl is not willing to date the king? He could have left things comfortably as they were. But Josiah knew something was missing from his life and he wanted to know why. He just knew it was time for a change.

For each of us, comfort and normalcy can be a deceitful thing. It is so crucial that we are constantly remaining open to the voice of the Lord in our lives, especially that which is found in his word. Don’t get so comfortable that you are unwilling to change. God may be trying to move you in order to bless you. Listen up and be prepared to change.