1 Kings 4:1 King Solomon was king over all Israel… ⁷ Solomon had twelve officials over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one had to make provision for one month in the year.

These verses may not seem like a big deal, but they are. You may recall that God assigned each of the 12 tribes of Israel a particular land area with set boundaries and a group of elders to govern each tribe. We know that some tribes had far more people and land area than others. For instance Judah (the area in which Jerusalem was located) was the largest tribe in land area and number of people. Benjamin was the smallest. Solomon decided a reorganizing of Israel would even things out and make it possible for each of the 12 regions to share in providing for the king and his household one month out of the year. Makes perfect sense. And instead of having local elders oversee their respective tribes, Solomon appointed officials of his choosing (people he already knew). Again, Probably made all the sense in the world.

But logic isn’t the only thing at work in a situation like this. There is emotional process as well.

People have emotional attachments to the way things used to be even if the logic for change is sound. Like everyone else I’m being forced to accept changes in many areas of life – whether I like it or not. Even for someone who generally embraces change, it has not been easy. And I am compelled to make changes in the church I lead as pastor. And while these changes have proven to be reasonably effective thus far, it’s still very hard. As a senior leader I have to remember that logic isn’t the only thing at work. I have to be attentive to the emotional process of change affecting everyone. We all experience grief and loss when change happens, especially so much change in such a short time.

Lord we all need your grace in this day and age. Change may be necessary, but it’s still very hard. Help us to keep hope in the midst of struggle on many fronts of our world. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.