Resistance to change only causes us to stay in places we have outgrown. There is purpose in every moment, and although we often have choice, there are times when shifts happen without our consent or desire. This is that season for me. Ever changing and transitioning to places and times I can’t see or understand. My heart, at first, so distraught and broken with the very thought of leaving anything behind.

My joy began to fade. The joy that I have fought so hard to choose every day, despite my circumstances and placement. I felt my soul begin to break and my body began to follow. How could God lead me to these places and people, only to remove, rearrange and redirect in such a short amount of time? How do I continue to trust in Him, when everything I have fought so hard for, lies at the edge of an abyss of unknowns? Will I have the strength to face the giants again?

Thoughts leading me, as far as the path of utter destruction and loneliness, all the way back to victory, promise and restoration. Two sides of a coin with very different outcomes. Reflecting back, I know that He is a promise keeper. His character has never swayed in any other direction. It hasn’t since time began. There has always been a plan and purpose in all that comes to pass. Especially when there seems to be no way that we see here in this realm.

The sovereignty of God does not change with the conditions. He knows the plans He has, and though we have free will that often attempts to derail those plans, He still has the power to do all that He desires for us. There is a huge comfort in knowing that my good is what sits within His heart. He loves us through the trials and tribulations. He carries us when we are weak and tired and ready to surrender.

He feels the level of pain we experience and collects every tear, just as the hairs on our head are counted, so are the tears we shed. He is ready to take the anger we have, as it is poured out at the top of our lungs when we can no longer bear the lack of understanding and pain within our spirit. He is ready to comfort us in our deepest sorrows as we let go of the plans we had for ourselves. He is ever present when we overcome those things too, and celebrates with us.

I read, a wise man once said, “You go no place by accident.”, but you have to be willing to go. You have to be willing to trust that once you begin the journey, something good is waiting at the top of the mountain. Proverbs 16:9 says, “We make our plans but the Lord determines our steps.”. It is strenuous. I don’t believe anyone would disagree. The promise was not for aesthetics, but for salvation, joy and peace beyond understanding.

The seasons are changing in my church, my job, my life. I can choose to fight against the current, or I can embrace what God has promised and provided. It won’t look the way I imagined it, but if it’s for my good and His glory, it should look the way He ordains. Our encounters have intent, how we give unto others is a blessing. Living with the falsehood that we can control all things, only draws us further away from the One who can carve out the path.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).