Before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, he sent angels to warn Lot and his family: '"Run for your lives!" [one warned]. "And don't look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!"...But Lot's wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt' (Genesis 19:17, 26 NLT). Lot's wife disobeyed a direct instruction from God and, as a result of looking back, she lost her life.

There are three important lessons in this story. (1) 'Don't...stop anywhere in the valley!' We all go through valley experiences in life, but we mustn't get stuck in them or choose to stay in them. (2) 'And don't look back.' The windscreen in a car is larger than the rear-view mirror - it's a reminder that we spend most of our time looking forward, only glancing in the other occasionally to make corrections so we can continue to move forward safely and reach our destination. (3) 'Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!' When someone hurts us, we can take the high road or the low road. When we take the low road and retaliate, something within us dies spiritually. But when we take the high road, we grow stronger, wiser and more mature.

When we get stuck in the past, it's always at the expense of the future. Always!

So what now? God has better days and better things in store for you. So let the past be the past and move forward.

A pastor wrote: 'The second law of thermodynamics states this physical truth: if left to their own devices, everything in the universe moves towards disorder and decay. Cars rust. Food rots...It's also called the law of entropy. And the only way to prevent entropy is to introduce an outside energy source to counteract it. The technical term for this is negentropy. And the refrigerator is a good example. You plug it into an electrical outlet, and it produces cold air that keeps food from rotting. If the refrigerator gets disconnected from its energy source, entropy will take over again. And things will get smelly. Isn't that what happens when we get disconnected from God? Life moves towards decay and disorder. So how do we overcome our entropic tendencies? [Solomon answers,] "Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29:18 KJV). If sin is entropy, then investing our energies in a God-sized vision is negentropy. The word perish comes from the Hebrew word para, and "entropy" is a fair translation.'

Perhaps many church problems aren't because of 'too much sin' but rather from 'not enough vision'? We're not suggesting there aren't problems or that problems don't need to be dealt with. But in too many instances, there isn't enough vision to keep churches busy. Our vision isn't big enough to demand all our energies, so we focus on petty problems to keep us busy. The same is true on a personal level. All people need a cause greater than themselves.

So what now? What's your personal vision? Make it big and God-focussed.

Two more reasons we resist change: (1) It feels awkward and uncomfortable. When was the last time we tried something for the first time? If we can't remember, our comfort zone may have turned into a rut. A sign on a wall contained two statements. The first had an X through it. It said, 'If it ain't broke - don't fix it.' The second read, 'If it ain't broke - break it!' Sometimes the only way to 'get out of the box' is to break out.

(2) We cling to tradition. The Pharisees couldn't receive the truth Jesus shared because they were bound by their traditions. Many of us cling to tradition, thinking that if something has a long-established pattern of behaviour, it doesn't need to change. Not necessarily. This joke illustrates the point: How many traditionalists does it take to change a light bulb? Answer: four - one to change it, and three to talk about how wonderful the old light bulb was! When a tradition connects you to people or personal history, it can be a good thing. But if it doesn't, maybe it's time to try something new.

Here's a great verse to challenge us to embrace change: The Bible says, 'Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is' (Romans 12:2 NIV).

So what now? What change do you need in your life? Ask God to give you courage to make it and embrace it.

When is the right time to make a change? From a leadership perspective, there are better times than others to make changes. Dr John Maxwell, who wrote the best seller The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, says: 'I developed the following checklist to help me navigate the process: Will this [change] benefit the followers? Is [it] compatible with the purpose of the organisation? Is this change specific and clear? Are the top 20 per cent (the influencers) in favour of [it]? Is it possible to test this change before making a total commitment to it? Are physical, financial and human resources available to make this change? Is [it] reversible? Is this change the next obvious step? Does [it] have both short- and long-range benefits? Is the leadership capable of bringing about this change? Does everything else indicate the timing is right? Before implementing a big change, I run through this checklist and answer each question with a yes or no. If too many questions have a no by them, then I conclude that the timing may not be right.'

Timing is so important. The Bible says: 'To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under Heaven...He has made everything beautiful in its time' (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11 NKJV).

So what now? If you're thinking of making a change, talk to God 'the timekeeper' and ask him, (1) What should I do? and (2) When should I do it? Then step out in faith and trust him to guide you!

Abraham had fame and great riches, and 'was even called the friend of God' (James 2:23 NLT). It doesn't get better than that! But Abraham's story begins with these words: 'By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going' (Hebrews 11:8 NKJV). How did he deal with change? By faith!

Why do we resist change? Doubt and fear of personal loss. Anytime change is on the horizon, the first question that pops into our minds is, 'How will it affect me?' For example, someone approaches their co-worker and says, 'I just heard the boss is having to make some people redundant.' The co-worker's first thought probably isn't, 'I wonder what triggered that decision?' or 'I bet the boss feels bad about having to do that!' No, probably their first thought is, 'Am I at risk?' That's just human nature. The second we face change we can quickly feel alone and helpless.

Where do we find strength in such moments? In God! His promise is: '"I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we may boldly say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me"' (Hebrews 13:5-6 NKJV)?

So what now? If you're going through uncomfortable change, remember this - whatever is unknown to you is fully known to God. And the one who has always taken care of you has already gone ahead to prepare the way (see Deuteronomy 31:8).

When Christopher Columbus returned to Spain, he was considered a national hero and credited with discovering new lands. But people did not change their minds about the earth being flat, as Columbus claimed. It wasn't until that generation passed on and the next one took their place that people realised the earth was round. That's how long it took for people to change their minds - an entire generation!

Dr John Maxwell wrote: 'For many years, I thought leaders liked change and everyone else didn't. As a visionary leader, I always felt that I was drawing reluctant followers into the future. But I finally realised that leaders don't like change any more than followers do - unless, of course, it's their idea!' Change is hard for everyone. Novelist Mark Twain said, 'The only person who likes change is a baby with a wet diaper.' Even King David acknowledged his own stubborn nature and fear of change on four separate occasions, praying, 'Turn us again...O God' (Psalm 80:3 NLT).

Change can be a great obstacle. Why is that? After all, doesn't progress demand change? And doesn't growth too? Let's face it - we can't move forwards and stay in the same place. So, for the next few days, let's look at why we resist change and how we can learn to embrace it.

So what now? You will need to change from time to time. Here's a prayer for those times: 'Lord, I need to change, but I'm afraid to change, so make me willing to change.' That's a prayer God will answer.