My PCS of Faith

Both my husband and I grew up as military brats. If you are one, you know exactly what this term defines. It is not so much about an attitude or level of behavior, it is about a lifestyle. Children of military members understand things like code of ethics, sacrifice, and duty from a very young age. They also understand that duty takes precedent over comfort and often this requires frequent moves. Most military families pick up and move every 3 to 4 years; it's called a PCS or 'permanent change of station'. I actually liked it when I was a child. Although it meant saying goodbye to familiar friends and surroundings, I always looked at it as a new start. Somehow I had convinced myself that when I got to our new location I could "start over" and create the ideal relationships that somehow lacked in my current location. I could re-create myself, if I so chose, and the fresh start always seemed appealing. The problem is....that is not how life or moving works. Why you ask? Because a move involves movers, and when you get to the new location you have to unpack your stuff. We all bring baggage with us.
I'm watching some folks around me who basically are trying to create what they believe is a fresh start for themselves. They are essentially quitting their current life in an attempt to move into some kind of new one. The problem is, that apart from God this is impossible. Doing it in your own strength, will only produce the same results. You can't expect a different outcome, if you keep going about things in the same manner.
Solomon, who was the richest man in the world with everything he could want or need, said it this way in the book of Ecclesiastes..."Utterly meaningless, everything is meaningless. What do people gain from all their labors for which they toil under the sun? What he meant was, that a life here on Earth apart from God (under the sun) is meaningless because all your self improvement efforts are in vain. Anxious toil is exhausting and I would suggest that is why most of us want to quit. What we are really seeking is relief from our circumstances and the hard work it is going to require to fix them; the path of least resistance seems somewhat like a military move. Just pick up and go somewhere else. Oh, yeah...the baggage.
That's why we have to live life "above the sun"...with the big picture that only God gives. This only happens by staying connected to him on a daily basis. Brave Christians who want to grow in their faith are willing to ask themselves tough questions. This is something I am currently learning especially as it relates to the things that make me anxious. But I will tell you one thing....I am not going to quit, despite what the current rumor mill might suggest. My life has undergone a lot of change in the last six months, most of which I would not have chosen. But my walk with God is stronger than it has ever been as I turn to him daily for the perspective that I need to get through it. As we try to sort through our house in Niceville, getting ready to put it on the market, the process seems overwhelming. That is exactly how our enemy wants the process of change to feel...overwhelming, so that we will chose to quit rather than push through the mountains of baggage to achieve what God has in store for us. At times it certainly does seem easier, and appealing, to just walk away from everything I am dealing with. I'd rather have a little discomfort now knowing that I'm on my way to the blessing God has in store for me, than have to live with the lifetime of regret that accompanies the believer who chose to quit rather than persevere.
God wants us to move too, but only when we are willing to go through the processes of change that will make us more like his Son. Change is how God moves you from glory to glory. (Read that one again! and meditate on it for a second.) It really is a permanent change of your station (PCS) in life.  If that is true, then quitting would be the worst thing to do. The question to ask yourself is, "Am I resistant to change?" The answer for most of us, is yes.
Only God makes things new. Only God can release you from the baggage that causes us to labor in vain. Looking at your circumstances through worldly glasses will always encourage quitting. But seeking God's perspective on the matter will take your faith to the next level.
"So from now on regard no one with a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if any one is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old is gone and the new has come." 2nd Corin 5:16-18