November arrives and the glory of fall ebbs away. School and work schedules are in full swing, and the days grow shorter. All this a reminder that our lives are full of ever-changing stages and phases.
Perhaps, like me, you have been navigating a student leaving home for university this fall. Maybe you are in the throes of a career shift, an unwelcome health diagnosis, or finding your way without your life’s partner. Such transitions can be unsettling, disorienting, or full of grief, but they can also be an invitation to lean in and trust the unchanging character of God.
Adjusting to change can be difficult. During times of transition, our automatic reaction may be to grow anxious, try to control outcomes, or become paralyzed with inaction. We may maintain a white-knuckled grip on the fading summer of our lives, become stuck mourning a by-gone season, or fall into fretting about the future.
When we grow unsteady with a changing season, it helps to remember that God sees the beginning from the end. He alone holds the future. He assures us with these words, “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).
As seasons change and we are faced with new or unexpected transitions, we can rest in the assurance that God never changes, and his faithfulness never wavers. Even when circumstances feel unsteady, God’s character, presence, and promises stand firm. The key to traversing times of uncertainty with poise and peace is to place our trust in God, not the shifting circumstances around us.
How can we trust God in life’s transitions?
1) We can release control of the past and develop a posture of thankfulness in the present. We cannot change what has already happened, but we can change our attitude and perspective. Practicing thankfulness and recognising God’s daily care and blessings help us to see the good in each day and even each moment. Developing the habit of finding things to be thankful for in our current season can help us embrace change and better navigate life’s transitions.
2) We can hand over control of the future while holding onto God’s promises, trusting that He knows the way. Learning to trust God with our future and the day-to-day details of our lives not only deepens our faith and character, but also deepens our relationship with God.
3) We can hold our plans loosely and allow God to lead us, daily trusting His Word, His presence, and His Spirit. God’s word reminds us, “’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts’” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
4) We can open-handedly offer our time, talents, resources, and days to God, allowing His diversions or disruptions instead of forcing our plans or rigidly holding to our own agenda. I have found that many of the significant transitions I would have never chosen or initially appeared to be devastating, turned out to be God’s way of moving my life to a place of blessing I could have never foreseen.
5) We can develop new routines or ways to spend time with God. A scripture reading plan, a Bible study group, or prayer practice. For years I have kept a prayer journal to write prayers to God and verses that stand out during my Bible reading. My prayer journal doesn’t replace my spoken prayers to God, but writing helps process my emotions and sort through my struggles. It is also a record of the countless ways God has answered prayers and been faithful during times of change or hardship.
6) We can trust and rest in God instead of stressing and striving. This doesn’t mean we don’t work or make goals, but we no longer go it alone. We partner with God in what He is already doing. In this posture, we find peace and make room for joy in each day. His word reminds us that, “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).
7) We can remember that God is for us. His word reminds us that, “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Even when life feels off course, or our steps feel unsteady, we can remember that God is on our side.
Whether we appreciate them or not, seasons of transition stretch us to rely on God’s strength instead of our own. They are an invitation to trust God more deeply in every area of our lives and form life-giving habits that align with God’s will and word. They also forge an intimacy with God we may not have otherwise known. In what ways will you cling more closely to God during this season of change?
