Why Hard Transitions Are Still Good
When I first wanted to become a missionary, I thought of transition as a wonderful word. It held adventure and fun. But as time has shown me, transition can also be the word we use for change.
If you’re anything like me, change is not your best friend. Because, while transition seems exciting, change is often hard and uncomfortable. Most people enjoy transitions like getting a new job, getting married, or having a baby. But there are other transitions that take us by surprise.
Losing your job, feeling like a stranger in the country you just moved to, and learning to live with the passing of a loved one are also transitions.
They require a change from something known and familiar to something completely different. They demand more from us: energy to learn new things, flexibility to do them differently than we’re used to, perseverance to try and try and try until we get it right.
So, how do we do it? How do we get through the harder changes or transitions in a way that brings glory to God, for those who are witnessing our lives?
God’s children were never exempt from transitions or the hardships related to them. Abram and Sarai had a hard time moving away to a different country, Job had to readjust to a new life after experiencing immense amounts of loss, and Joshua was promoted to a leadership position that he probably did not feel ready for.
Here are three things we can learn from these examples in God’s Word, while we navigate transitions:
1. LIKE ABRAM AND SARAI, REMEMBER THAT GOD IS FAITHFUL.
God called Abram and Sarai to go to a different country and gave them a promise. On their way there they encountered many difficulties, and after arriving, they had to wait for years. No wonder Sarai laughed when the promise was brought back up. Who wouldn’t?
After hard or tumultuous transitions, when everything about our lives seems to have changed, it can be so easy to let ourselves forget who God is. But whether you chose to be in a transition, or whether it was hurled at you by circumstance, the truth remains the same. God is still faithful. We may be transitioning, but he is not. If he promised, as he did with Abram and Sarai, he will not fail to keep his Word.
2. LIKE JOB, SURRENDER YOUR DESIRE FOR CONTROL AND TRUST GOD.
Job was desperate for answers and reasons why. He had ideas about what was happening and how it should or shouldn’t have happened. He wanted to control the situation himself. God asks him to take a look at everything in creation that he has made and holds together, and then challenges Job to remember that he is God and Job is not. And that gives Job peace.
If there is one thing any change or transition has in common, it’s that they all have aspects we cannot control. This is probably why transitions are so hard. We cannot choose when they start, when things stop feeling hard, or when they will end. But we can choose to surrender and trust God. After all, he is sitting in his throne, and nothing moves that he does not account for.
3. LIKE JOSHUA, DO NOT FEAR AND BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS.
Joshua needed to step up to the plate; he had big shoes to fill, and many people that he was now responsible for. Fear must’ve gripped his heart pretty bad because God’s encouragement starts with “do not fear.”
So in transitions that seem fearful, remember the last part of that verse, “for the Lord your God is with you.” (Joshua 1:9) That is what will give us strength and courage as life changes around us. To know that the God who slays giants and tears down walls from the inside, goes with you.
In all these stories, there is one common denominator. God was present, he stayed true to his promise, he answered, and he was with them. He used all those transitions, not only to bring glory to his name, but also to bring Abram, Sarai, Job, and Joshua to a better understanding of who he is.
So how do we do it? We allow God to use every transition, hard change, and even worldwide shift, for his glory and to bring us closer to himself.
And if that is so, then transition can still be a wonderful word.
