When we see something of great value we want it as quickly as we can get it. Usually however, we don’t consider something to be of value until we’ve had some positive experience with it. What would make the disciples drop everything immediately and follow Jesus without having had some experience with him? What would make a person with an unclean spirit speak against Jesus’ teaching in the synagogue?  Three words come to mind; change, difference and circumstance. First, nobody really likes change. We like the comfort of familiarity until of course it becomes uncomfortable. Yet anything connected to God is constantly changing. Second, God created difference. Our gifts are many and varied, designed to be used for the good of the community of believers. Third, our circumstances have a lot to do with how we respond to change and difference. If we remember that God’s love is greater than our circumstances, we can learn to value the change and accept the difference in every moment of our lives, as we drop those unhealthy spirits and follow the Spirit in the promise of God’s Word.

May God give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power (Ephesians 1:15-23).