Dealing with Changes and Transitions

As people, we normally don’t like change. Actually, it’s more that we don’t like the time of transition that accompanies the change. There is nothing harder than to be in the middle of what used to be and what is about to be. There are many transitions that occur over our lifetime. We will all agree that change is both necessary and good, but walking it out can sometimes be difficult.

There are chunks of seasons in all of our lives that produce different purposes in us. Each one is very different, but very necessary. We need to become analyzers of our lives. Sounds fun, right?! For example, think about the chunks, or seasons, in your life up to this point. Depending on how old you are will determine how many there have been.

Let’s talk about our pasts. People say to forget the past, but I find it is incredibly important to diagnose, analyze, and remember it. Even in the most difficult times of our pasts, it is helpful to ask God for His understanding as to why those things happened. Many times we can’t grasp the big picture of what God is doing in the present. It may not be until years later that we have the right perspective and understanding of what God was doing in us back then. This isn’t always the case, but sometimes it is. We should be excited to get old and look back on our lives and see the definite hand of God in it. I know it is with us right now, but we will have much more understanding of it the older we get. The longer you live, the more you tend to see the bigger picture. You will find that even among the mistakes nothing was wasted. Looking back on our lives up to this point can produce an even more “I love you God” in our hearts if we have the ability to see God’s hand in it. There’s a bit of romance in it.

Nothing can help get us through present situations than to look back at our past and see the times God has taken care of us. He wants us to remember how He has gotten us through before so we can believe the same for today. Sometimes this is all we have – a memory of God’s faithfulness. Like I said earlier, the hardest place to live is the in-between place of what used to be and what is ahead. It could be that you believe God for something in prayer and it hasn’t happened yet. You feel as though you are standing in the middle of an impossible situation waiting for God to answer. Or, it could be a time of transition in the natural. Maybe life is looking different than it used to and you haven’t quite gotten used to the flow of how it is going. Remember, change is necessary and important. When things change, you have to trust that God’s purpose in the season that has just ended has been accomplished. This is hard because we get used to how life looks. We get used to relationships and knowing what to expect in our day to day lives. When a new season begins, we can feel vulnerable and confused as to where life is headed. We aren’t in as much control, so we tend to worry and have anxiety or fear.

Think about the season of life you are in. Are you in the middle of a season that you have been in for awhile? Life is comfortable, you know what to expect, and nothing is really changed in awhile? Know that probably at some point you will encounter a new beginning of some sort. Or maybe you are in a time of transition and everything has recently changed. Wherever you are, I hope you are encouraged that in your life there will be many changes that take place. Over and over, your life will look different and your role will change. This is all a part of God’s plan. Trusting Him is the difficult part!