Transitions are inevitable. A transition is a simple intermediate step between an old place and a new one reached through a change. In other words, you will face changes in your life, and the season of time between leaving the past to embrace the future is called transition.
In the Scripture, we find endless stories of transitions: the stories of Joseph going from being in prison to becoming governor over all Egypt (Gen. 39-41); the people of Israel leaving slavery behind to live in freedom (Ex. 3-14); and Moses and Joshua, a leadership transition that led God’s people from being just free to becoming conquerors (Deut. 31: 1-8).
A new transition is the beginning of new opportunities, the starting point of God’s new time for you. Changes come to your life, generating transitions. If you celebrate the past, embracing the future, while submitting to God’s will, the transition becomes a time of new opportunities. The equation is simple:
Transition = Change + Celebrate the Past + Embrace the Future + Submit to God’s Will = Time of New Opportunities
Some people miss out on enjoying God’s new opportunities in their lives because they wrongly resolved the equation. Instead of celebrating what God did while they were in the previous place and embracing the future, they decided to cling to the past or reject the future, creating a painful transition that seems to last 40 years in the desert (Ex. 16:35). Others, although they embraced the future, forgot to submit to God’s will, and after hearing “the Lord has anointed you,” they ended up hearing “the Lord … has also rejected you” (1 Sam. 10:1; 15:23, ESV).
Transition = Change + Celebrate the Past + Embrace the Future + Submit to God’s Will = Time of New Opportunities
Are you in the midst of a transition? Has God already indicated you should transition, and you are holding on to what you have? Is God asking you to leave something to take you to another place, but you are afraid?
Embrace the future God has for you. Move forward in faith without forgetting that places, assignments and comfort can change, but what never changes is your identity in Christ and God’s love for you in the midst of transitions. Remember, God “will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed” (Deut. 31:8, ESV).
