WHAT THE LORD TOLD ME ABOUT TRANSITION THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
THE HUMAN CONDITION
Transition and change are inevitable — yet, it can feel so uncomfortable, unbearable, or even painful. Have you ever considered that transition is the human condition? We all experience it in more ways than one. You might not be able to remember taking your first steps or saying your first words. But, you probably remember the big unknown of what was to come in the awkward stage of teenhood. No longer is someone holding your hand ensuring each step is landed as it should. Instead slowly but surely as you become more confident in your ability to stand you then find your footing, discover your voice, determine your place. Change and transition is the very thing that brings you into your divine destiny and deploys you into your sanctified calling.
I recently was preparing for a meeting with multiple leaders in the Bethel environment. I had jotted down the word “transition” on the top of my notepad. I knew I needed to discuss the obvious change of leadership we were all experiencing. However, as I stepped into the meeting, I glanced at the top of my notepad expecting I would be prompted to talk about transition when instead I heard the Lord say, “You are not going through a transition; you are going through a metamorphosis.”
Now, you might think that metamorphosis is simply just another word for transition, but I would propose that a metamorphosis is not a regular part of the human experience. Rather, it is the transformation that happens from the inside out as you become a new creation. This is the believer’s condition stated in Roman 12:2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” The word “transformed” in Romans 12 can also be translated to the word “metamorphosis.” I would propose that undergoing metamorphosis entails changing the way you think. The challenge is that often we undergo a metamorphosis and treat it as a transition by relying on the muscles that bore the weight in the past to move us forward. We end up in the old gym training the old muscles we use to need to succeed instead of changing our training regiment. The truth is, often our greatest resistors in a season of metamorphosis are the successes of the past.
Consider the life of a butterfly, one day they live on the ground believing their purpose is to crawl and not to fly. However, suddenly they are wrapped in a cocoon undergoing a metamorphosis that will cause them to transform into a butterfly. How ineffective and insignificant is the season of the cocoon if, as they are released, they try to crawl instead of fly? This is the very thing I see happen when we label transition as a change when actually the Lord is preparing the way for a complete paradigm shift. I’d like to remind you, you are no longer a sinner saved by grace, but you are a saint. (2 Corinthians 5:15-16)
THE METAMORPHOSIS SEASON
Have you found yourself in the comfort cocoon; committed to the past success to get you by? Confident in your ability to walk but uncertain if you truly can fly? Or maybe you are a leader experiencing a shift and trying to gather people after the circumstances we all faced in the midst of a global pandemic. The truth is, often a season of metamorphosis is uncomfortable and stretching or even unnerving and scary. What I am getting at is without vision for the future you can make the comfort cocoon your new home when it was meant to be a purpose propeller.
How do you gain vision for the future when the present feels unstable and the future feels murky? I would challenge you with this: what if we saw our circumstances by the spirit and not just by the flesh? We don’t have to be confined to the circumstances in front of us when we have been given the gift of prophecy through the power of the Holy Spirit. The prophetic is a gift; it relieves the heartaches of uncertainty as you call out the gold that exists even in the turmoil of transition or in the midst of chaotic shifts. What does this look like practically? For starters, I would encourage you whether you’re a leader, parent, or a friend to begin to see the people around you through your God-given lenses. You might begin to be surprised with the unexpected of who God has placed to make a change and bring clarity to the uncertainty of the future vision.
Have you felt you are in the midst of a metamorphosis? I would love to hear how the Lord has encouraged you and given you vision beyond your current circumstances in the comments below.
My prayer for you this week is that you feel encouraged, filled with hope, and expectant of what the Lord is working out in your midst.
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