Have you noticed changes lately? So many things are different from they were even a year ago. Especially for those of us who can no longer claim youth as our age category, life is very different from what we knew before the internet started. Life has sped up to a dizzying pace. But I’m not talking about that exactly, though it is part of what I hope to help us think about.
“Shift” is as a verb that is used with an object. Dictionary.com’s first definition is: “to put (something) aside and replace it by another or others; change or exchange:”
For example, the WWII generation is passing away. That means they shifted leadership to the Baby Boomers and we who are Boomers are increasingly shifting leadership to younger generations. While these are defined shifts in themselves, there is a larger shift taking place. A spiritual one. President Obama once stated his conviction that the United States is no longer a Christian nation. I think this is up for debate, but I understand what he is saying. Even that is not exactly the shift I mean, though again, it is a part of the shift that is occurring.
I’m really talking about the atmosphere. Not the weather, but a spiritual atmosphere. Depending on your primary sources for information, the world can look and feel like a place going “downhill” and fast, or a place pregnant with opportunity. From where I sit, I see and sense both, probably because of the current shift. Transition is another word that one can use to describe what is going on. It is the active process as we “set aside” and “replace.”
I’ve mentioned my transitions more than I care to, but at the same time I know many people, especially in service to our Creator God, who are also in transition. I am beginning to sense the shift in these transitions from the early phases that tend to feel full of the fear of change and has more questions than answers, to a more positive sense of expectation about the future in spite of the challenges we will inevitably face.
Some people fear some sort of doom in the atmosphere, often due to the delicate economic balance of the national and world economies. Or perhaps the long-term effects of 9/11 and the more recent “Arab Spring,” or the continued violence in places like baltimore cause some to sense doom.
These troubling things are on my radar too, but have a I sense that whether or not the doom sayers are correct, God is in the air. . . .
The questions are still hanging out there without clear answers, but God is in them.
These shifts are causing people to question the way things are and some ask about God, His existence and His purposes for themselves and for the big scheme of life. This openness is more prevalent now than it has been in many years, arguably even decades. What “open doors” are waiting for me to walk through?
What shifts have you noticed? What does this sense of spiritual shift mean for each of us? Like I said, the questions about the future and how to operate in this new “place” are still out there. . . .
Will you join me in asking our creator what He wants us to look for and pay attention to?
How will I respond to what I learn when I pay attention?
Abba, Thank you that you know the end from the beginning! Thank you that your perfect love casts out fear. Thank you for being loving and unchangeable, and that in You all the answers are Yes and Amen! Give me insight to notice the shifts in and around me, wisdom to know how to respond, grace to follow Your lead and strength to obey. Amen
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