Life Is Full Of Transitions
Whether you’re moving to a new country you never imagined living in, starting a job you never thought you could do, or facing unexpected challenges in your current environment.
Whether entering a courtship or marriage, launching a new organization, switching to a career you never anticipated, or stepping into ministry despite feeling inexperienced and unequipped.
Remember, in each of these new chapters, your most important lesson should be:
“Be ready to gather the right ingredients that God has taught you to use, and then decide to cook.”
This, my friend, requires full cooperation with God, where His will becomes yours. [1]
But how much are you willing to surrender your will to His?
How Overwhelming Can Sitting On The Fence Be?
After the death of Solomon, Israel split into the north and the south.
The northern kingdom, led by Jeroboam, swiftly turned away from God and fell into idolatry when he introduced Baal worship to prevent his people from going to Jerusalem to honor God. [2]
The kings that followed were even more wicked, culminating in Ahab, who was described as more evil than all the kings before him. [3]
The prophet Elijah was sent to confront this wickedness, but not with a call to repentance as the prophets before him.
Instead, he declared a severe drought over Israel that lasted 3½ years. [4]
This drought was meant to stir the hearts of the Israelites, reminding them of God’s grace and mercy in their years of plenty, even in their rebellion. [5]
God’s gift of uniting His infinite mind with our finite minds has never been for His own sake. [6]
He longs for you to pledge your allegiance to Him, the One who knows the secrets of the universe He created, so that He can fully work through you.
So, why live with one foot in and one foot out?
Even the devil seeks your full allegiance, saying, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me,” so that you may live large according to the world’s standards.
You Are Standing On Mount Carmel
When Elijah returned to confront the prophets of Baal and end the drought, it wasn’t just to prove God’s power.
It wasn’t to expose the futility of Baal worship either.
It was to call the people sitting on the fence to make a clear choice. [7]
How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him —1 Kings 18:21
In His mercy, God sometimes withholds blessings to show us our partiality in worship and draw us back to Him.
Just as the Israelites had to endure a drought to recognize their hypocrisy, we might face our seasons of lack or struggle to make a firm decision regarding our allegiance.
But these are not times to despair; rather, they are opportunities to deepen our reliance on God, refining us and preparing us to become efficient vessels for His work.
After making that choice, God is more than willing to “restore you the years that the locust hath eaten,” to “revive the spirit of the lowly,” to “heal the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds,” to mold your brokenness into meaningful learning experiences, and set you up for new possibilities and worthwhile endeavors in the fields of sin.
As You Await A New Chapter
Ask God to give you fresh ingredients and teach you how to use them for the season of life you are in.
Your task, then, will be to cook your food, constantly aligning your will with God’s.
When you do, no external circumstance—whether accolades of men, promises of wealth and power to tempt you away from God’s path, or failed projects, heartbreaks, broken promises, shattered dreams, or betrayal—will sway you from the path God has set before you.
In times of drought, when things aren’t going as planned, it might be God’s reminder that He is your provider.
He’s preparing you and shaping you to be effective in the unknown.
Trust in His provision, and let Him guide you through the uncertainties of life.
