Once someone understands the Transition Cycle (if you aren’t familiar with this, see the video on the Downward page) you realize though you may feel stuck, as long as you keep running to the Lord, diving under the waterline to inquire and listen and respond to Him you truly aren’t stuck at all! Even though your external circumstances may not change, internally you are moving forward in powerful life changing ways being transformed by Jesus!
But there are three key ways during a transition people can get stuck:
- Getting angry at God – because you know He is sovereign and can do something about your circumstances but isn’t.
- Getting depressed – feeling, “I’m a loser” or “There’s something wrong with me.” It’s difficult to follow someone when self-focused.
- Becoming apathetic – either plodding along or shoving the issues under the rug. Here hope has been given up that God can or will do anything.
What can help you avoid these pitfalls or escape them when you find yourself falling into them?
Asking three questions!
- Who in the Bible has undergone a transition?
- How does their story connect with my story?
- What can I learn from their story that encourages me?
Recently I met with a group who were struggling in the midst of unwanted transitions. When I asked these questions it was fascinating to hear their responses. The first shared about Abraham and how God called him to leave all that was familiar without revealing what lay ahead. He “went, though he did not know where he was going” we’re told in Hebrews 11:8 and even when God told him what lay ahead, he had to wait decades to “see” the answer to God’s promise to provide him with a child. This person was encouraged to keep following Jesus one step at a time and to trust He really is leading somewhere… good!
The next person selected Mary. Can you imagine the transition she went through after the angel declared, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Even the transition to a happy event can be difficult, especially when there are challenges (Nausea, relational conflict, public rejection) associated with it! This woman’s heart was encouraged realizing even though she may not “see” what God is up to at this time, He is at work birthing something in her that will be good.
What’s fascinating is when you are in the middle of a transition, experiencing the hard first hand, there is a unique opportunity to understand the Scriptures in even deeper ways. So easily we can read through stories forgetting these are real people who didn’t easily breeze through. They had to persevere, too! After giving birth to my son, I never read about Jesus’ birth in the same way. It was wonderful! But I’m sure it also was excruciatingly painful and messy…
As our discussion continued others selected Joseph, Naomi, Paul…
Do you realize the Bible is filled with stories of people going through transitions?
Can it ever encourage our hearts when we take time to consider these stories! We realize we are not alone! (Hebrews 12:1) As we see how others have navigated their transitions we can learn from them and be spurred on to keep persevering while in the middle of our stories having no idea what lies ahead. Most importantly, in each we see from start to finish how faithful God is to write a good story!
As it says in Romans 15:4. “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.”
Hope truly is the antidote to getting stuck. May the Lord bless you with it in abundance!