Are you in a shifting season and a time of transition? If your life is anything like mine right now, I am experiencing a myriad of changes all at once. Some of them are positive and exciting and others are painful and challenging. I am learning to live day by day and trust God with each change that comes. He has been so faithful to give me grace and strength to handle each day’s circumstances and to focus on the next right step. These three principles have helped me during this season of transition.
First, I am learning to surrender to God’s plan for my life. I am laying down all my desires, plans, expectations, wants, needs, worries, and cares and trusting Him to carry me and my family through this season. I am asking Him to lead and guide us each step of the way into His perfect plan and purpose. My prayer is that we are all flexible, teachable, and willing to move in a new direction. One of my favorite verses providing a firm foundation during this time of transition is found in Isaiah 43:19. It says, “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” NLT
A second principle I have embraced is asking God to clearly show me the next right step forward. When you are in a place of great change and uncertainty, life can get blurry and confusing. Maybe you are moving to a new state, changing jobs or careers, caring for elderly parents with ailing health, or dealing with unique challenges in your immediate family or community. During these times and seasons, it is reassuring to start each day in prayer and wait in the presence of the Lord so you have clarity and strategy on how to take the next right step. In Psalm 37:23 it says, “The steps of a (good and righteous) man are directed and established by the Lord, and He delights in his way (and blesses his path).” AMP
Finally, during these moments of uncertainty, I turn to the community He has placed in my life to help me walk through these challenges as I step into the new. Every day I pray for key connections and the right relationships as I transition from one career to the next, as me and my family are transitioning my parents into assisted living, and as we are preparing to send our daughter from high school to college soon. I am looking to those who have more wisdom and experience and can help bring guidance, comfort, and direction as we move into new and unchartered territories. Proverbs 11:14 says, “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” NKJV
Transitioning into the new is not always easy, but it is a welcome process when God directs you and key people see you through. Oftentimes, it seems like it would be easier to wave a magic wand and get to the new place effortlessly. Yet, I am learning as you press into God through prayer, let go of the comfortable places that have held you down, and embrace new places and people, your faith grows stronger. As you step into the new, you will be equipped with His grace and find you are ready to flourish in the purpose God now has for you. Enjoy the new, amazing adventures He has laid out for you and your loved ones too!
Amy Joob is an award-winning author, speaker, and model turned advocate. She hosts the podcast Support Someone Saturday and recently released A 40-Day Prayer Journal titled Unstuck: Step into the New. Amy has been married to Eric for over 20 years, is the Mom to Arianna and Ashton, and lives in the suburbs of Chicago.