WHEN YOU NEED A COURSE CORRECTION

Genesis chapter 12






Today we are walking in: When You Need A Course Correction










Habakkuk 1:11


Then shall his mind change H2015, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.




CHANGE








Today we look to the word- CHANGE- H2015- haphak- a primitive root; to turn about or over; by implication, to change, overturn, return, pervert:—become, change, come, be converted, give, make (a bed), overthrow overturn), perverse, retire, tumble, turn (again, aside, back, to the contrary, every way).










The Torah Testifies…………….




Genesis 35:2


Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that werewith him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change H2015 your garments:


Leviticus 27:10


He shall not alter it, nor change H2015 it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change H2015 beast for beast, then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy.



Leviticus 27:33


He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change H2015 it: and if he change H2015 it at all, then both it and the change H2015 thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.










The Prophets Proclaim………



Jeremiah 2:36


Why gaddest thou about so much to change H2015 thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.




Zechariah 3:4


And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change H2015 of raiment.




Malachi 3:6


For I am the LORD, I change H2015 not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.








The Writings witness……………



Job 14:14


If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change H2015 come.




Psalm 102:26


They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change H2015 them, and they shall be changed:




Proverbs 24:21


My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change H2015:








When You Need a Course Correction
It’s Never Too Late to Change


Change does not necessarily assure progress, but progress implacably requires change.
—Henry Steele Commager, historian and author


Even after we’ve made a decision to initiate change in our lives, there may be times when we move off course— to a greater or lesser degree. What is important during these times is that we not become discouraged and convince ourselves that we “knew it would never work out” and “it isn’t worth trying anymore.” It is vital that we not stay off course but immediately make a course correction to move back in line with our purposes. As the quote at the beginning of this chapter emphasizes, if we truly want to make progress in life, we must persevere in implementing change.


Let the Creator Decide


One of the saddest things I’ve heard from people over the years is, “I cannot change.” Have you convinced yourself that you cannot get back on track because you have wandered from your purpose—and from Yah? We owe it to ourselves—and our Creator—to wholeheartedly pursue the purposes He’s given us. When we go back to our original visions and tap into who we are and what we’re meant to do, we will become reenergized to move forward in positive change.


Whether you’ve never “taken off” and are still idling on the runway or have gone off course mid-flight, it is never, ever too late to change. Think of Abraham, the great patriarch. At seventy-five years of age, he was approached by Yah with an unusual proposal:


Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing....To your offspring I will give this land.(Genesis 12:1–2, 7)


Even at Abraham’s advanced age, travel of this nature might have seemed plausible. But there was another problem with this scenario: he was childless. The suggestion that his “offspring” would inherit the land was ridiculous in light of his situation. Yet Yah didn’t think it was too late for Abraham to make a major move and to father a child through whom an entire nation would come —especially since that child wouldn’t be born for another twenty-five years!


This is why we need to let the Creator make these decisions instead of us. If we give up too soon, we might overlook or prevent the arrival of important vehicles of change in our lives. Abraham could have told Yah, “It’s too late for me.” He wouldn’t have hindered anything too important—only the beginnings of the nation of Israel!


Note that his choice wasn’t a private decision—it significantly affected history. We shouldn’t presuppose that our decisions to initiate change affect only us. Nelson Mandela came out of prison when he was over the age of seventy and became the president of South Africa. I wonder how many times he thought, while he was sitting in his cell, How old will I be when I get out? I will be useless. I’m glad he didn’t say, “It’s too late for me to change. It’s too late for me to lead a country and help a people.”


“I Have Considered My Ways”


We have to take an honest look at where we are in relation to the purposeful changes we want to make in our lives. Are we on course, or have we taken a detour? Most of us know the courses we are on. We know our daily habits. In our hearts, we know exactly what we’re doing and where we’re headed.


For example, if you keep going to work late and making the boss angry, you know your future—for your job, anyway. If you don’t exercise and eat right, you know what course you’re on in terms of your health. If you’re lying about your relationships or about certain things you shouldn’t be doing, you know that you will hurt others— and yourself. Do you want to stay on the same unproductive or counterproductive course you have been on?


Earlier, we talked about the analogy of piloting a plane in regard to pursuing our purposes. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man [pilot], but in the end it leads to death [collision].” Perhaps the way you’ve been living seemed right at one time, or you wanted it to be right, but it’s led to a collision or a dead end. Sometimes, people think they can outsmart Yah. They say, “I’m not going to do what I need to do, but I’ll still be able to fulfill my purpose.” You can’t get away with shortcuts—or substitutes. Trying to substitute something else for Yah’s plan for your life is like trying to run your car on orange juice instead of fuel. It may run for a little while on the little bit of gasoline that is left in the tank—but then the juice will hit the carburetor. Likewise, you may think you have been doing fine. But the juice hasn’t hit yet.


Psalm 119:59 says, “I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes.” The writer of the psalm was saying, in essence, “I’ve thought about the way my life was going, and therefore I have changed course.” The first thing you do is to “consider your ways”—look at what you’re actually doing and where your actions are leading you. “I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands” (verse 60, emphasis added). Make a course correction right away. If you know where you want to end up, recalculate and turn in the right direction.


Here are some questions for “considering your ways”:


Am I truly satisfied with the course I’m currently on?


Is the course I’m on enabling me to fulfill my purpose?


What took me off course, and what has kept me there?


Is how I’m spending my time contributing to my vision? Is what I’m doing in secret taking me to my purpose?


Have I been deterred or distracted from my course? If so, what happened? What disrupted my life that has taken me off course for weeks, months, or years?


Why am I in the same condition that I was in last year, with no improvements? Why haven’t I developed or advanced in any areas?


Does what I’m doing have eternal value?


Unless you address these questions, your life will remain the same. You’ll keep doing things that cause you to diverge from the path to your purpose. Recommit to your vision and then keep your word to yourself that you will do what it takes to fulfill it.
To help you answer the above questions as you evaluate your life, here are some reasons and circumstances to consider that indicate you may need a course correction.


Reasons for Changing Course


1. You missed your goal. You didn’t accomplish what you planned because you didn’t pursue wholeheartedly what you wanted to achieve. Your course correction involves going back to your original flight plan to accomplish your purpose.


2. You know that your present actions are detrimental to your life and purpose. If what you’re doing is causing you problems, you have to change your course and do different things that will put you a clear path to your purpose. For example, perhaps you fell into debt because you slipped into unwise financial habits. Make a course correction by developing a plan to get out of debt and follow sound financial practices.


3. You need to eliminate friction. Sometimes, you need to adjust your course because the direction in which you’re going seems filled with friction. Once, I was talking with a young man whom I knew had gotten engaged, and I asked him how he was doing. He said, “Fine.” I said, “Are you married yet?” He said, “We’ve been engaged for a while, but we keep fighting.” I saw that he wanted to talk about it, so I said, “Tell me about it. What’s the problem?” He said, “Every time we think things are working out, we have a big fight. We’ve been fighting for a year.” So, I said, “Let me give you some advice. Every relationship has problems, and all relationships have conflict. Conflicts are normal. But if you keep fighting, you need to evaluate the source of the fights before you get married. For example, if you keep having conflict because she’s jealous about the young women you work with, and every time she sees you talking with another woman, she gets angry, then the source of the conflict is jealousy. If your job requires that you work with a variety of people, both men and women, and she can’t handle that, then that tells you what your future marriage will be like.” After such advice, someone may say, “Yes, but I believe the Lord is going to change [him or her].” If your boyfriend or girlfriend isn’t willing to change to win you, then he or she won’t be willing to change to keep you. The Lord may have been trying to change him or her for a long time, but He can’t change a person if he or she is not willing to change. The same person may say, “But I know [her or she] will get better.” “Oh? How long have you been going together?” “Twenty years.” You get the picture.


4. You must change your altitude (attitude). Sometimes, the necessary course correction involves a change of attitude. Again, what if Yah, in His purposes, takes you from a top position in your company to a new job where you have a lowly position? Can you adjust to that “altitude” change and have a good attitude in the midst of it? This might be a case in which the change of job is necessary in order for you to have a breakthrough of some sort in your life. Joseph was put in prison unjustly before he was promoted to ruler. It’s very important to have positive perspective, even when you feel as if you’re in “prison.” That position may help you to mature because it will reveal negative inner attitudes that need to be dealt with. Or, you may find your new position to be better for you physically and emotionally. Because you no longer have to work overtime, you can spend more time with your family. When you come through this change by achieving what Yah wants for you there, you will have been refined and prepared for a new leadership role—wherever you are.


5. You experience unexpected disruptions. When life unfolds in a way you didn’t expect, you might be thrown off course for a short time, but then you need readjust to get back on course. This disruption might be a minor inconvenience or a large setback. Either way, don’t allow it to bump you permanently from your flight path.


6. You need to work through a “detour.” Sometimes, we experience major crises in our lives or have disastrous personal failings. I want to encourage you that even though you have stumbled or fallen, you can still make it to your destination. If you have failed, you will need to ask Yah for forgiveness and seek reconciliation with those whom you’ve hurt. Working through such detours means you must take a revised route in order to get back to the main flight path—but you will get there. “I didn’t plan to be in such financial straits.” Yah says, “That’s okay—stay on course.” “I didn’t plan to get a divorce—again.” Yah says, “Stay on course!” “I didn’t count on my baby dying!” Yah says, “Take time to grieve, receive My comfort, and don’t give up hope! Keep pursuing your purpose.” Every setback or failure can be transformed into a testimony. Yah will turn things around, and you will be able to grow from it and tell others how you developed faith and strength in the midst of it. Whatever you’re going through right now, you will go through it—and come out again on the other side. If you learn and grow from it, you’re going to come out better than you were when you went in.


7. Your timing is off. Sometimes, we may mistake the timing of our seasons and try to act too soon. If the time is not yet right for certain things to occur, you must regroup and make a course correction that will prepare you for the time when the season is ripe for harvest.


8. You displaced your values. Displacing crucial spiritual and moral values will always throw us off course. The following are some areas we particularly need to evaluate in our lives to make the necessary course corrections. Changed priorities. You have to reevaluate your current priorities. For example, whenever you start replacing Yah with other things, your future is in trouble. Perhaps, instead of valuing Yah, you’ve fallen in love with material things. You used to make Yah your priority, but now you have two jobs and are running a business. What do you value most in life? Do you value being famous? Do you value the pursuit of money? Do you value being known as a success? After answering these questions, ask yourself, What is of eternal value? Also, what friendships and associations take priority in your life, and which are you pursuing? Are they beneficial to you? Sometimes, our professional or social relationships become more important than our family relationships or accountability relationships, and so we’ve strayed off course. It’s vital that we give top priority to our relationships with Yah and our families.


9. Familiarity with Yah and abuse of His grace. Sometimes, we can become so “familiar” with Yah that we don’t think we need Him; we’re not even interested in Him anymore. We think we already know everything there is to know about Him and the Bible. When we take Yah and His grace in our lives for granted, however, we abuse our relationship with Him. We may begin to take it too casually when we think, say, and do things that are contrary to His nature and will. Then we wonder why our lives are off course!


10. A lack of personal time with Yah. Perhaps you used to get up early in the morning and spend time praying and worshipping Yah, but no longer. What happened? You’re off course because you’ve found more “important” ways to spend your time. As a result, there has been little or no spiritual growth in your life. You may still be pursuing your purpose, but you feel empty about it. It’s time to check in with your “Tower.” My personal time with Yah is the most important part of my day. I enjoy Yah because I choose to make Him a priority every day. If you don’t spend time with Yah in prayer, you won’t receive the spiritual refreshing you need, and you will be beaten down by life. You will struggle and become frustrated. Don’t let your work become more important than worship. Check your values. Check your activities. Don’t pursue things at the expense of Yah.


11. A lack of time in Yah’s Word. When you lose your love for Yah’s Word, you often lose your love for Yah Himself. And when you lose your love for Yah, your whole life changes for the worse. That’s when you start altering your priorities. So, you see, one detour leads to another. You start valuing other people and things more than your Creator, and they become your Yahs. Suddenly, your life no longer represents Yah’s true nature and ways, and He seems to walk away from you. I am committed to reading the Bible because I want to stay on course. The Bible says that if you will seek Yah, you will find Him. (See Jeremiah 29:13). But if you don’t seek Him, He’ll hide Himself from you. (See Deuteronomy 31:17.) It is sad to say, but many times, it takes a crisis for us to come back to Yah when we’ve grown apathetic toward Him.


12. Unhealthy personal relationships. You may need a course correction because you’ve been spending time in the wrong company. As I wrote earlier, some of our so-called friends are working against us by persuading us to take up habits and practices that are destructive, which short-circuit our visions for our lives. “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord” (Psalm 1:1–2). Are you “sitting” with others, as if in agreement, when they scoff at Yah? Perhaps you have moved away from your close relationship with Yah because you started dating someone who isn’t interested in Him. When a relationship pulls you away from Yah, you have gotten off course, and you should make an immediate course correction. If this person doesn’t value your highest priority, he or she doesn’t deserve to be with you. Just because someone is good-looking doesn’t mean he or she is right for you. Of course, you need to end a relationship immediately if it is leading you out of your marriage. You should also evaluate your professional associations. Where are they taking you? You may say, “Well, it comes with the job.” You have to set standards that won’t cause you to compromise your priorities. You don’t sacrifice your relationship with Yah for a job. If you’re spending time with people who will turn you from Him and your purpose by encouraging negative attitudes, behaviors, and habits, it’s time to recalibrate your relationships.


13. Entertainment instead of personal growth. This is often a significant problem, but most people don’t even think about it. They will spend hundreds of dollars on concerts that are not really helpful to them, but they won’t put any money into something that will enable them to grow spiritually, intellectually, or emotionally. They will spend hours amusing themselves but little or no time developing their potentials.


This Is Halftime


Any of the above scenarios may describe your life right now, but Yah has brought you to this point in time to give you an opportunity to make a course correction for your life. Let’s use another analogy related to getting back on course: “halftime.”


Every football game has a halftime—a break of about twenty minutes to a half hour when the teams are allowed to go back to their locker rooms, rest, and revise their strategies. If a team hasn’t been playing well, the coach will give the players specific pointers for how they should adjust their approach. Perhaps the other team was tougher than they expected and they became distracted and forgot the original game plan.


Similarly, you’ve been on the field of life. You haven’t been living well or making progress toward your vision, but this is your halftime. Consider me as your life coach right now, and remember that Yah’s Spirit is always with you as your Counselor, so make sure you listen to Him.
Here’s my halftime talk: “Look, you’ve been losing a lot of yardage, and you’re in danger of losing the game. So, this is what you need to do: remember your original game plan, stick to it, and keep a positive attitude. Don’t dwell on your mistakes but correct them.”


When players receive this type of instruction during halftime and take the coach’s advice, they go back on the field as a revitalized team. They are on the right course, they are energized—and they start putting points on the scoreboard.


Remember our discussion of times and seasons? Time allows us to have “halftimes” and “time-outs” to regroup. Paul wrote, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is” (Ephesians 5:15–17).


When you reach a certain age, the above verse becomes even more important to you because you recognize that you don’t have any more time to experiment with life. I made a decision that every appointment I make and every opportunity I invest in to has to be connected to my purpose and Yah’s will for my life. If people want to change, I will help them. If they want to improve, I will dedicate my time to them. But, if they just want to waste time, then I have to decline. I am committed to spending my time with others who do want to pursue their purposes. We are to make the most of every opportunity. Maximize your life as you’ve never done before. Make every day count. Don’t be foolish, but use your time effectively.


Keys to Course Correction


Let us now look at some keys that will help you to make your course correction. If you are twenty-five years old or younger, you especially need to take these keys to heart— because there is even greater pressure on you to get off course than there is for those who are older. Again, they know well that time is limited—and that no one stays twenty-five forever!


1. Review, revise, and reset your vision. If you want to make a course correction, reexamine your Yah-given purpose, or what you want to become. What did you want to do with your life? What is your preferred future? How should your vision be refined to make it more specific or clear for you to follow?


2. Assess your obstacles. Evaluate the things you need to overcome in order to get back on track and achieve your goals. Again, you first have to acknowledge the truth about where you are currently headed. Which areas, above, did you recognize about yourself and your life? Be honest about any ways in which you are setting up your life for collisions. Then, list specific steps you will take on order to get back on course.


3. Study the failures of others. Let other people’s negative examples teach you. Evaluate the lives of people in the Bible, people you have heard about, and people you know personally who have strayed from their courses in life. Note the effects on them. Then, ask yourself if you are following in their footsteps. You aren’t so different from them, and you will also fail if you keep making poor choices and avoiding the good things that you should be doing.


4. Commit or recommit to good counsel and accountability. When you keep following the same advice from the same people and find yourself coming up with the same bad results, something needs to change. Who are your counselors? To whom are you listening? To whom should you be listening? Discover those who will give you good counsel and ask them to help you evaluate your life and your plans for pursuing your purpose. Find someone with whom you can pray, and tell that person, “I’m going to give you my plan for the year on paper. I want you to help me make sure I keep it.” Commit to having someone be your coach and accountable relationship—someone whom you give permission to ask you, “Are you doing what you said you wanted to do? Are you being faithful to yourself?” We all need this type of help and encouragement.


5. Cut off relationships that are hazardous to you. In order to maintain a strong relationship with Yah so you can fulfill your life’s purpose, you may need to sever some relationships right away. Review the above points about unhealthy relationships and misplaced priorities to help you evaluate this area of your life. Then, take the necessary steps to free yourself from these negative influences.


6. Change the environments of your life that are hindering your progress. Negative life environments might include the forms of entertainment you engage in, your current job situation, your associations, and your habits— especially the secret ones. If they’re hindering you, you must eliminate them. Then, create new, positive environments through which you can follow your priorities and experience personal growth.


7. Look for Yah’s detours. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And Yah is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Yah promises to give us a “way out” during times of temptation so that we may resist them or hold up under them. If you’re going to stay on course or make the proper course correction, you must take the “escape routes” that Yah shows you. For every temptation, He will always give you a way out. Take it! When you sense Yah saying such things as, “Leave now,” “Don’t call him,” “Don’t answer the phone,” or “Don’t go there,” listen to Him!


Let Your Choices Change Your Course


Even when you think you’re on course, take time out periodically to review, renew, revise, and refocus your flight path, as necessary. Again, ask yourself, Am I going the way I want to go? Am I becoming the woman or man I committed myself to be? Am I doing things that will cause me to develop into the person I want to become?


The course you are currently on will affect your whole life. If you need to make a correction, take courage and do so. Don’t let a crisis change your course; let your choices change your course. Receive all the blessings, possibilities, and opportunities Yah wants for you. The past is history. Today is the beginning of your future.


Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.
—George Bernard Shaw, author and playwright