Transitions

I don’t think it is a coincidence that as my wife and I plan to move away from the town in which we’ve lived our whole married life, that I am reading Genesis right now in my daily devotions. Talk about transitions! Adam and Eve are cast out of the Garden after their disobedience of God’s command. Noah is called to build an ark in order to survive the destruction of all life except for that which joined him in the ark. And Abraham is called to leave the only region he had ever known to go to a yet unknown place.

What do these transitions have in common? The Lord was present in all of them. In their transitions from one type of life to another, from one place to another, they did not go alone. Amid any call to transition from the familiar to the unfamiliar, the one assurance we have is that the Lord will be with us.

I have had four major transitions in my life—going to college, to grad school, to my first campus ministry position, and then to my second—and all but one included moving out of state where I knew no one. All these transitions were difficult and often included the wishful thinking, much like the Israelites, that I was better off back in the place I had left. But I grew, as I think Abraham did, in my ability to trust the Lord. My last transition was much easier and this upcoming transition I think will be easier still. What I have learned is that the Lord works out the details and I have nothing to fear in stepping out in faith.

When my wife and I began talking about transitioning out of campus ministry three years ago, we knew it would involve a move from Boone. We would need to get out from underneath a mortgage and move somewhere less expensive to live. For two years, we have been praying for the Lord’s leading on the question: Where? We never received a clear answer, but some of our own desires (to be near to an airport—mine, and to work with resettlement of refugees—my wife’s) pointed to the Triad region of North Carolina. As we sold our house in May and began making plans to move, we faced several roadblocks involving finding housing, to the point we began to question whether Lord was signing on to our move to the Triad. Yet, despite some doubts, we decided to trust our first inclinations and continue to pursue housing in that area. Finally, we found a house to rent, and the Lord has shown us favor as we immersed ourselves in the minutiae of closing down one home and preparing to move into another. We’re seeing opportunities open up for our new ministries. We believe we have found a church community in which we can use our gifts and have fellowship. And our partings with friends in Boone have been very sweet.

Fear is the greatest obstacle in stepping out in faith and follow where we sense God is leading us. I have worked with many students who have allowed the fear of the unknown to influence their decisions involving God’s direction for their lives. Some were fearful of moving far from their families. Others were fearful of giving up a lucrative job for something that would pay much less. Still others believed that to do something having little to do with their degree was irresponsible.

What all of these have in common is a lack of trust in the Lord. The familiar is comfortable and many of us are loathe to give it up. Yet, this is often the area the Lord zeros in on to test our faith. If he calls us out of our comfort zones, do we trust him enough to go? As the Apostle Paul states, “For we live by faith, not by sight.” (II Corinthians 5:7)

What my wife and I have experienced in increasing measure over the course of our Christian lives is that we can trust the Lord. Not that we haven’t had doubts; we’ve had a lot of them. But we’ve chosen in those times to trust him rather than our doubts. He has never failed us.

So, as we begin our new adventure (as we call it), we are excited to see what the Lord is going to do in us and through us. What new adventure might the Lord be calling you to? If you are feeling that stirring, don’t ignore it out of fear. Seek the Lord even more to see if indeed he wants to lead you into something new and different. If so, you can be assured he will be with you wherever he calls you to go.

© Jim Musser 2022 All Scripture references are from the New International Version, 2011.