Adjust and Adapt | Part 1

Hebrews 13.8
“Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Change is difficult. It is even more difficult when it’s imposed on us suddenly and without our approval, which is what everyone has experienced as a result of the COVID outbreak of 2020.

Wise people recognize that change is a necessary part of life and work. It is a constant reality that is not going away. In fact, change is speeding up, not slowing down. It is happening more often, not less often. Your ability to adjust and adapt in response to change—and do so quickly in a positive and proactive way—is an essential discipline in today’s (and tomorrow’s) world. 

As most of you know, in addition to the painfully disruptive changes of the COVID crisis, 2020 presented me with the additional challenge of getting diagnosed with cancer and going through chemo. Through it all I learned to trust God even more deeply as I applied the disciplines and core principles of E+R=O.

Here are 10 timeless truths you will need in 2021:

1. The greater the uncertainties, the more important the certainties. As the verse above states, Jesus doesn’t change. The Lord is the certainty in the midst of change. Jesus is our Rock.
2. Don’t let the change around you exceed the rate of change within you. Often you cannot change the situation, but you can always change yourself.
3. The R is most important when the E is most difficult. The more challenging the event, the more important your response. Don’t make a difficult situation worse by responding poorly. 
4. No BCD. If your response isn’t working, don’t waste time and energy blaming the event. Choose a better response. Don’t complain; solve.
5. Clarity of vision determines quality of response. How clearly you see determines how effectively you act. Perception drives action.
6. Focus on what you can control. You always have a choice regarding what you focus on. Find and focus on what matters, and give no energy to things you can’t control. Control the controllables.
7. As fear goes up, clarity goes down. Fear disconnects you from the Lord and makes you weaker. Fear distorts, distracts, and debilitates. It fixates on the negative, and prevents you from doing things you need to do.
8. Faith clarifies and empowers. It connects you to the Lord and makes you stronger. Faith helps you see with clarity and act with discipline. Faith looks for solutions and focuses on what needs to be done.
9. Embrace productive discomfort. Adversity is painful, but it also pushes you out of your comfort zone and motivates you to do the work to get better.
10. Connect and collaborate. We find the best solutions when we stay connected and work together. The challenges and changes we are facing in the year ahead require the collective response of the Christian community. Stay connected to the fellowship!

“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” (Romans 12.3-5)