One of the most frustrating things when you travel, is to wait in an airport between flights en route to your final destination. Especially so, when they announce a further delay of the departure of your flight. You can do absolutely nothing but wait! You are no longer at your point of departure. And you are not at your destination yet. You are caught up in-between. And there is no escape but to wait out the delay.
Transition can be passing from one place to another, one job to another, or one house, city or town to another. The challenges of the past year have definitely brought many to a transition of some kind, including spiritual transition. How do I recognise whether I am in a transition right now? What are the signs of transition? How do I respond to life during times of transition? Following are some thoughts that may help you pray for God’s guidance in your personal circumstances.
6 Signs of a spiritual transition
- You find yourself becoming restless. No matter what you try, you cannot shake the restlessness.
- You sense that God has something new for you. Something like a new task or line of work. You cannot yet lay your finger on it and you keep feeling restless.
- You are not generally impatient, but gradually you feel more impatient with your current circumstances than before. Again you cannot lay your finger on the reason why.
- You find that things which previously grabbed your attention and moved your heart, now leave you generally unmoved or uninspired. You still do it, but the passion of your heart has somehow shifted.
- You may find yourself less engaging. Things that were previously very important, even a small detail, are now less important, as if you are seeing things differently.
Watch out for traps while in transition
1. Distractions: You are more vulnerable to wasting time. You can easily find a whole week has passed and you have not done something meaningful. Be sure to spend your time purposefully completing or giving attention to especially ‘long overdue’ matters. These are the things that will slow you down once the transition is over. Do not be negligent now.
2. Running ahead of God: You are vulnerable to moving ahead of the Lord and “making” something happen independent of Him. When we hear of something really wonderful happening in another ministry or business, we can easily move after the ‘movement in our heart and emotions’ without really hearing God’s direction on such matters. Having a mentor or prayer partner is very helpful at such times. They will help you keep perspective, but also faithfully pray with you.
3. Spiritual apathy: You are vulnerable to becoming spiritually lazy. When there is not a specific passion burning in your heart – which may happen during transition times – you may feel unworthy before God. You may even feel useless to society and meaningless in life. These are times the depth of our established identity in Christ is revealed. Focusing on God and spending time in prayer and the Word will serve you well in this season.
Wise advice when in spiritual transition
1. Prepare: Once you recognise you are in transition, view it as an opportunity to PREPARE for what will be God’s next step in your life. Pray and ask God what He wants you to do right now in order to properly prepare. Write down what the Holy Spirit shows you and start to focus and pray about such matters. PRAY Daniel 10:12.
2. Waiting on God: Master the art of waiting on the Lord. Waiting on God is active, not passive. Do not fall into doubt whether or not God hears or sees you. You know from Scripture that He does! Just take up your daily position in prayer and study of the Scripture. Worship Him whole-heartedly, regardless of your needs and questions. Just for who He is. Set your heart and thoughts towards Him as a faithful Father. PRAY Isaiah 40:31.
3. Short-term goals: Make a list of things that need to be done or need attention. Schedule them in reasonable time frames and then tackle them one by one. Do include contacting others and praying for them – on the phone, meeting for coffee, writing an email. See that you keep ministering to others. PRAY Psalm 27:8.
4. Prayer partner: Share your heart and journey with trusted friends. Ask them to pray for you and with you, and let them share what God shows them about your journey. PRAY Proverbs 17:17.
