Seasons Change. It’s Time to Go.
You all had a good run – that season, job, person, place, or thing. Or, maybe it was a bad run. Either way, the weather has changed, tides have turned, and it’s time for you to move on.
Sometimes, we don’t want the seasons to change. We’re comfortable. We’ve got things all figured out – and here comes God shaking things up, right?
Well, whether you’re excited, sad, or nervous about the shift, here are 4 ways to prepare yourself for the end of a thing and welcome God’s new thing!
1. Welcome the change of seasons with thanksgiving and gratitude.
Teammate, you’re not ending this season the same way you entered it. Oh no, you’ve made some mistakes, learned some lessons, and grown a little wiser – and for that, let your heart be thankful and filled with gratitude.
Thank God for the mistakes you made – you’ll never have to make them again. Give thanks for the opportunity for God to use you and grow you through the season. Allow a grateful heart to keep away any feelings of fear, regret, and uncertainty – realizing that God reveals Himself from faith-to-faith (Romans 1:17).
2. Tie up any loose ends – with excellence.
Whenever you’re exiting a season, be it a job, relationship, relocation – make sure there are no “loose ends” that need to be tied. Deliver on every promise. Give back what needs to be returned, and in Jesus’ name – never take what’s not supposed to go with you.
Don’t fall into the “entitlement” trap of all the years you’ve spent, and take what does not belong to you. The last thing you want to do is defile your future journey by carrying old season stuff into your next promised land.
3. Walk away by faith, and not by sight.
If God brought you to the last season – person, place, or thing – He’ll bring you to the next season. Don’t go trying to force any situations or manipulate circumstances into what you think should be your “next”. Sure, you’re walking wiser and stronger, but you’re still walking by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7) – even when you walk away. Keep God in the driver’s seat and follow His lead.
4. Stop playing. Let go, for real.
No play-play letting go, Teammates. If God is moving and shifting you from a place that no longer serves you – keeping your pinky finger on the pulse of what’s going on “back there” will stunt your progress forward. You can’t dwell on the past and effectively move forward (Philippians 3:13-14).
A lot of us claim we’ve “let go” or we’ve “moved on”, but we’ve carved out a secret place in our hearts and minds where that person, place, or season still has its claws dug deep in our spirits. Release it! Release them! Sometimes it takes deleting social media connections, browser bookmarks, old phone numbers, and contacts. Whatever and however God would have you to move on – do it, for real.
So, What’s the Play Call?
Congratulations, Team, on your graduation to the next level or season. The time is now to put away childish things and become the man or woman God has purposed you to be (1 Corinthians 13:11).
You’ve outgrown the milk bottle, now sink those teeth into some meat LOL! You won’t choke, God is faithful to lead and guide you now as He did back then.
Trust Him.
They say good things come to those who wait. The MGM Aretha Franklin biopic, RESPECT, has certainly done its fair share of waiting.
If you’re not familiar with the practice of prayer and why people pray, it’s very easy to look at it as though somebody is making a definitive statement or doing something over which they would claim to have full control. The twist with prayer is that you can be saying things that sound very active and assertive about what you want to happen in the world and also at the same moment you are relinquishing control. You’re saying, “I am surrendering this concern.”
The third critical teaching of the first statement, “I am the Lord your God who took you out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage” is the importance and the meaning of freedom!
Monster tells the story of Steve Harmon (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.) a seventeen-year-old honor student whose world comes crashing down around him when he is charged with felony murder. The film follows his dramatic journey from a smart, likable film student from Harlem attending an elite high school through a complex legal battle that could leave him spending the rest of his life in prison.
Martin and the American Bible Society want to meet that need with trauma-informed Bible reading, teaching people about healing from trauma using Scripture.
Wait a second. How many people do you know who actually wait to purchase a high-priced item by saving for it? Many people just buy, buy, buy, and think about the costs later – i.e. the consequences of making a hasty decision.
Waiting.
Everyone loves a good sale, right? Especially a BOGO – buy one get one free. Getting an item of equal or lesser value than the item you paid full price for is the name of the “saving” game.
Teammates, aren’t we glad that when Jesus makes us a promise, 
