“For everything there is a season,” the author of Ecclesiastes writes. But is there ever really a “season” for a hurricane, or other natural disaster? Or an illness that will not heal? Or the rancor of today’s political climate?

Change is everywhere and it’s not easy. Bad changes are always disturbing, but even good changes can bring their difficulties. Ask any newlywed. Or college graduate. Or winning football coach. Changes come in many forms.

So how does a person deal with change? Ultimately dealing with change is a spiritual matter.

Whatever we face, confidence and courage come through trust and faith in the God who created us, who watches over all our changes. Jeremiah wrote about God’s care even as Israel was threatened politically, militarily, and spirituality, facing a time of massive change and great anxiety.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). God watches over us and gently enfolds even our fears and anxieties into his gracious love and kindness, if we let God do that.

In the final analysis, it is faith that enables us to move through change, in whatever form it takes. It doesn’t take a lot of faith. Faith even as small as the grain of a mustard seed may be all we need (Matthew 17:20). As Jesus said to Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”(2 Corinthians 12:9).

So how do we deal with change? The Apostle Paul is clear. Pray. “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6,7).

Few people in the Bible went through as many changes as Paul did. When he wrote these words Paul was in prison in Rome awaiting execution at the time of the Emperor Nero.

Reinhold Niebuhr was a pastor in New York City during the 1930s — a time of massive changes as people were facing the throes of the Great Depression, a contentious political environment, the unsettling rise of Nazi Germany, and Japanese aggression in the Far East. In 1932 he wrote a prayer that has come down to us today through the work of Alcoholics Anonymous and the 12 Step Programs. It is called the Serenity Prayer. I pray it regularly.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

Courage to change the things I can,

And wisdom to know the difference.

It is a prayer for all seasons, and all the changes in life.