The Perils of Permanence

The Lord wants to adjust our perspective, recognizing that life here on earth is not permanent, neither are the possessions and the positions of this world.   Here are the words of Isaiah 43:
18 "Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert. 20 The beast of the field will honor Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I give waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My people, My chosen. 21 This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise.

We have been formed by God, and called by God, and He is constantly calling us to grow in Him, to move forward, to recognize that He is taking us on a spiritual journey that will be full of change, but He gives us the spiritual resources that are necessary to walk through those fluid situations of life.   If we trust in our possessions and our positions, then we lessen our degree of surrender to the Lord - He wants us to place our value in Him, and not in the things of this world, so that we might, as verse 21, says, declare His praise.

God holds our future, and as we look into eternity with Jesus, it can give us a new perspective on the changing possessions and positions on the earth.   Here's what Isaiah 65 says:
17 "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy.  
There were plenty of news headlines over the weekend - the testimony of General Petraeus on Capitol Hill, the tension between Israel and Hamas, the impending "fiscal cliff", the SEC back in the national championship picture - but one of those stories that was notable in that it provided a change of pace is the announcement that Hostess Brands would be closing its doors - at first, it appeared that there would be no more Twinkies, Ho-Hos, Ding Dongs, or Wonder Bread, but now there is speculation that once the company emerges from bankruptcy, those brands would survive under another company, but the over 18,000 jobs lost will still be lost.   And, there is plenty of finger-pointing to go around: many blame the unions for placing impossible demands on a struggling company, and the unions claim the company was being mismanaged.   But, no matter what the cause, this series of events can teach us about the perils of permanence.

First of all, about permanant possessions.  We are not to place our hope in the stuff of earth.   We have seen numerous brands disappear over the years, and while most of us don't place a whole lot of value on a cream-filled roll, there are resources on earth that we do put undue trust in.   Many may be hoarding these sweet treats over the next few days, and indeed, there may be multiple items that we own that we hoard and begin to attach a greater value to that what God would intend.   Stuff can take our minds off the Savior, and the amount of stuff we own can even run proportionately opposite to our spiritual growth.

Then, there's permanent position.  Where you are right now regarding your place in the family or your position at your job, or in your church, may not be the position you will hold in the future.   Husbands and wives become moms and dads, who become grandparents, and even caregivers for our parents.   You may have lost a job that would have seemed to last a long time, just like those Hostess workers.   Or, a strong church 10 years ago may be less effective now because it failed to respond to some of the ministry challenges of a changing culture, and where you're serving today may look very different that your role a few years back.  

Truth is, the temporal things of earth are changing, and one day, the Lord declares, there will be a new heavens and a new earth - change can provide us with an opportunity to evaluate our lives and our priorities, and to renew our trust in God, recognizing that He is at work, and will give us fresh perspective to deal with altered positions and possessions.   Brands and products will come and go, but the Word of God and the presence of God do not change.