For the last two and a half to three years, I have had this pronounced sense that something in my life was shifting. Initially, thoughts of worry and fear crept in leaving me to wonder, “Am I or someone I love going to die or be faced with an illness? Lord, what exactly does this mean?” Although there have been earth to heaven transitions in my family, there remained this undeniable knowing that things were about to change. A knowing that I was moving from one place of grace to another, and I needed to prepare myself for it. This is what’s known as transition.
Transition is something every person in life experiences in a relationship, ministry, career, or family. Transition is inevitable. Sometimes it comes without warning or permission.
Transition can be defined as the passage from one place, one stage of development, a time or season, to another. Although God never changes, and Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8), you and I change. Where there is no change, there is also no growth or advancement in the will of God for our lives. Transition is a requirement.
God the Father ensures that with each transition in life comes the necessary grace to move intentionally and successfully. Grace is God’s enabling ability. In times of transition, it stabilizes you where you are as you acknowledge and embrace the divine pull where God is calling you to be. It provides you with the wisdom and strategies to maneuver the unfamiliar bends in the road of your journey. It’s called transitional grace.
Transitional grace requires a heart willing to cooperate with God, in timing and obedience. Without it, you can find yourself stepping in the right place at the wrong time or the wrong place at the right time.
God calls each of us to a specific place for a specific time, but the day comes when something in your heart knows the season of being there is over. Very often, you can’t see where you will go, but something in you knows that change is on the horizon. In those times, it’s crucial that you do all you can to pull away and find yourself in deeper times of prayer and meditation, seeking the counsel of the Lord. The alternative is to find yourself becoming discontented and at times even critical of where you are currently.
I’ve counseled countless individuals who at one time loved where they were or what they were doing, but when their time of transition came what once blessed them now irritated them. What they could once ignore, was now exposed. Instead of living in the grace of transition, they criticized their employer, pastor, or spouse not realizing that they were changing, not anyone else.
Many years ago I worked for a local telephone company, and I loved my job. But, after many years, something in my heart knew that I wouldn’t be there much longer. I started to hate going into the office, and I no longer found satisfaction in the work. However, I maintained an excellent work and attendance record because, although I knew I was leaving, I had no direction from the Lord. It was just an inward knowing.
Initially, I didn’t say a word to my boss. But, for the next few years, every day I walked into the building I said to myself, “The day is coming when I’ll no longer be here, I don’t know where I’m going, but I know God has something great in store for me.” Deep inside I knew how I transitioned from that place would significantly impact how I entered the next, and I wanted to leave in good standing. I wanted to transition well. I continued going to work, giving my absolute best, knowing my days were numbered there. Finally, a door of opportunity opened for me to work in ministry full-time. I accepted the opportunity, gave my resignation one month in advance, and left the company.
That’s the power of living in the transitional grace of God, and learning to follow the leading of His Holy Spirit. He is our guide and the One who executes God’s will. He knows how and when things are to be done, so walk closely with Him. Before you know it, you’ll be standing where you were called to be, looking back at where you use to be.
