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Transitions—the loss of a job and my daughter’s move away from home come quickly to mind.
Others have suffered the loss of parents, spouses and children. They have had to learn to move on to a life that is significantly different. Transitions are difficult, but they do not have to be defeating. God has a way for us to navigate the most difficult transitions of life, and help others do the same.
When we go through a difficult transition, we must force our minds to acknowledge that God is a careful and purposeful orchestrator. “And we know 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). As the sovereign and omniscient Orchestrator, He has worked it all into His plan. I honestly don’t know of a greater encouragement than that.
As much as we would like to think we’re neutral observers in this life, that kind of thinking is simply deception. We are either for God or against Him. We may, in the natural, take a “whatever” laissez-faire attitude toward a difficult transition. However, if God is carefully and purposefully orchestrating something—and has positioned us in the middle of it—then our unwillingness to participate is a resistance to the will of God. It is truly that simple.
Again, when we’re faced with a difficult transition, we must align our thinking with God’s will. We have been given the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16); it is not as hard to think like God as our carnal mind would have us accept.
How do we discover and align ourselves with God’s will in a difficult transition? How do we understand and realize our assignment and find the motivation for it? The answer can be found in Psalm 37, verses three through six (as a side note, I encourage you to read the entire chapter; it is one of my favorites).
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness (37:3).
Verse three of Psalm 37 establishes God’s conditions for the process and promises that follow. The promises of God are for those that enjoy a healthy relationship with Him. It is particularly important to note that “the land” of the Old Covenant is the kingdom of God in the New. Jesus began His ministry preaching, “the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:14), and He explained the nature of that kingdom in His parables. Dwelling in the kingdom of God is a prerequisite condition for our participation in His work.
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart (37:4).
Verse four contains an incredible promise, preceded by a surprising condition. God has promised to give us the desires of our heart. Think about that for a minute. No matter how big the desire God has placed in your heart, He—the Creator and Orchestrator of all life—has promised to give it to you! There is no need to doubt, or to fear failure; for God has taken responsibility to give it.
There is, however, a condition for God giving us the desires of our heart: we must delight in Him. Here we find a bit of hidden mystery. The Hebrew word that is translated as “delight” is not what you might expect. It doesn’t mean to be happy with, joyful about, etc. That is the meaning of the Hebrew word chalets(found many times in the Psalms). David, led by the Spirit of God, chose here to use the Hebrew word anag. This simply means “to be soft” like clay in the Potter’s hands. The condition for receiving the desires of our heart is our surrender to God and the desires He has carefully placed in us.
Commityour way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass (37:5).
Moving on to verse five, we find another conditional promise. God will bring our desires to pass (i.e., He will work it out) if we commit our way to Him and trust Him with it. This does not mean to make a plan and ask Him to bless it. “Commit” literally means to “roll off onto” (i.e., to give it up). This actually makes a lot of sense. If God has the purpose, wouldn’t He also have the plan? Would He trust one of us to make one up? Whose plan would you rather follow?
Lastly, we come to two of the most exciting promises in all of Scripture. No matter how difficult the transition may be, if we will walk in right relationship with God, surrender to the desires He has placed in our heart, and give up our plans for His…
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday (37:6).
Recognizing that Jesus Christ is our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30) and our light (John 1:4), we understand that God intends to accomplish a work through us that will glorify himself. In doing so, we become the vessels and instruments of His glory. This first promise explains and fulfills Jesus’ command in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that when they see your good work, they glorify your Father in heaven.”
As followers of Jesus Christ, we were made to walk in the good work of God, work that He achieves through us during difficult transitions.
God’s second promise in Psalm 37:6 is, “He shall bring forth… your justice as the noonday.” Not only will the difficult transition work to your good (Romans 8:28), but through it, all will be able to see the love and care God pours out on His surrendered and trusting children.
It is critical that we consider Psalm 37:3-6 as an invitation to a conversation with God.
Our Father in heaven is waiting for our questions; He loves talking with His children. Will we invest the time to talk with Him?
Photo source: istock
 | Rob Streetman serves the body of Christ as President of two parachurch ministries: inLight Consulting (a workplace transformation ministry) and 2:2 Collective (a unity and church growth ministry). He is the author of two books: The Map Maker and A Storm is Coming. Rob’s heart desires is to encourage, edify and equip Christian leaders as disciple-makers and transformation agents—that they would become houses that stand in the storms of this life. He previously worked in various IT industry positions. Learn More » |
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