I love traveling. Let me rephrase that: I love visiting other countries. The traveling part – I'm not so fond of that, especially when it involves airports. The long check-in line, having my suitcase weighed (knowing that it's almost always too heavy), and then the most dreaded part of all: airport security. It stresses me out. When I finally take a seat in the departure lounge, I always breathe a huge sigh of relief, even though I still haven't even left home soil!
Unless the Holy Spirit miraculously transports me like He did with Philip in Acts 8, traveling is a necessary component of going anywhere different. Similarly, transition is defined as the process of changing from one state, stage, place, or condition to another. The key word is "process."
Transition is not the change itself; it's all the small steps and stages that bring about a change. It's the journey of how you get from where you are to where you're going. Hence, the first seven letters of the word "transition" are transit. You're passing through somewhere or something as you travel towards a destination.
Not every transition in your life is necessarily personal or initiated by God. Sometimes it is simply a result of your environment or decisions that are outside of your control. But often transition is internal. It's directly related to what God is doing in your life. It's what's going on inside you. It's the emotional, spiritual, relational, and psychological journey you take when change is happening.
Transition is when you ask questions like, "What is God doing in my life? Where do I sense change? How do I feel about it? What do I need to do? Where do I need to be? Who do I need to align with?"
In these unusual times we are living through, many of us will experience significantly more transitions than in the past. We must become comfortable with the "in between." Understanding the reasons behind transition will help us journey through it.
Ten Reasons for Transition
So, why does God lead you through transition?
1. You are entering a new season of life.
Transition is like a fifth season or a season between seasons. In April, it's often too warm to wear a winter coat yet too cold to go outside wearing only a sweater. It's difficult to choose what clothes to wear. Similarly, when you're walking through a transition, you're living in the in between. You're not where you used to be, but you haven't arrived at where you're going. It feels like you're in limbo.
However, just as you can't enter the fullness of the summer season without passing through that late spring stage, so also God can't bring you into a new season without first taking you through transition – a period when you'll often feel uncertain, disorientated, and unsure of your next steps.
If that's your experience today, be assured that it's temporary. Just as spring inevitably turns to summer, so you also will pass through transition into a new season.
2. You have more capacity than you are currently using.
In Matthew 25, Jesus told a parable about a master giving three servants different amounts of wealth to steward and invest. The amount they each received was according to their capacity to produce a return.
Transition sometimes happens when you're a five-talent person living a two-talent life. God knows your capacity and He wants to get out everything He has placed inside you.
Maybe in the past few years you've grown and developed. You've been through a process of preparation and maturing. But in your current place and space, there simply aren't the opportunities or openings for you to express your gifts, talents, abilities, and wisdom. If you remain there too long, you'll stagnate and even begin to spiritually suffocate. Or you'll settle for less than God has intended for you. (Photo via PickPik)
To use David as an analogy, on the inside you're a giant-killing king, but you've never stepped outside of the sheepfold. Transition is designed to bring you into a wider space where you can fully engage your capacity.
3. Your assignment is finished.
God called you to a particular work. That work is now complete. So, He's opening up a new assignment for you. When your assignment is complete, you usually reach the stage where your work/ministry, etc. has become boring and predictable. You've done everything you can do in this place, and now you're in maintenance mode, going through the motions to keep things from tipping over.
You no longer feel challenged or stretched. Your days become dreary. You have little enthusiasm for what you're doing. You have no vision for the role. It's hard to see any potential there. You've hit a ceiling. It begins to affect other areas of your life. You begin to lose your passion and spark.
That's why God is leading you into transition. He has a new assignment prepared that will ignite a fresh passion in you.
4. You have stopped growing.
This is related to the previous two points. All healthy, living things are designed to grow – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. However, when you plateau in some area of your life, you stop growing. You flatline and then begin to stagnate. Your life becomes too comfortable and predictable. You may even become a little depressed, because you need a challenge; you long for excitement. The danger is that you can begin to look for stimulation or a sense of thrill in the wrong places. Deep down you know that God has more for you.
Transition is the entranceway to a new season of growth and expansion.
5. God wants to reveal Himself to you in new ways.
This is often the case when God transitions you from one spiritual environment to another. In your current environment, you've experienced everything of God and the life of faith that there is capacity to express. For example, you may have been part of a solid evangelical church with strong biblical teaching. That's fantastic. But God also wants to expose you to a deeper relationship with the Holy Spirit. However, your current church simply doesn't have a paradigm for that. Something is being quenched inside you.
God transitions you into a new environment where there is a much greater openness to things of the Spirit. You begin to encounter Him in new ways. It can almost feel as if you've been born again – again.
6. Your current environment has become too limiting or restrictive.
Not long ago, my friend, Australian prophet Vicki Simpson, sent me this message:
"I had a dream of you the other night. You were trying to take your jacket off because it was uncomfortable. You didn't want to wear it anymore and it was quite tight. You were struggling to get it off. And you were getting frustrated and angry with it, and wrestling with this dumb jacket. You finally got it off!"
I immediately knew the dream was referring to some aspects of my ministry which I had been wrestling with for some time.
As you read this dream, I wonder if you can relate to that feeling? Something that used to fit you well now just seems too tight. You feel as if you can't be yourself in a certain environment, role, or with particular people. The jacket (or whatever it represents) hasn't changed, but you have. I think this can also refer to new spiritual mantles. When Elijah was taken to Heaven, his mantle was picked up by Elisha. This initiated a new phase of ministry for the younger prophet.
Some of your old "coats" or "mantles" have expired. They were God's anointing for a specific assignment or purpose in a previous season. But now He wants to remantle you for what lies ahead. Picking up the new requires being willing to release the old.
7. Your current place/position/relationship was never supposed to be permanent.
God brought you there for a reason and a season, but now that season is over. The danger is that you settle and stay too long. You allow a temporary stopover to become a permanent habitation.
In Genesis 11:31 we read, "One day Terah took his son Abram... and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Haran and settled there. Terah lived for 205 years and died while still in Haran."
Terah was called to Canaan, but instead he settled in Haran and died there. He stopped short of his destiny and finished up in the wrong place.
I have watched many people with great callings and dreams from God get settled and stuck in a place they were only meant to stay for a limited time. They became too comfortable. They struggled with fear of the unknown. Disappointments and hurts from the past kept them from pioneering and taking new risks. (Photo via Pxhere)
In Deuteronomy 1:6–7, God tells Moses, "...You have stayed at this mountain long enough. It is time to break camp and move on..."
That's a word for some of you today. You've been here long enough. It's time to move on.
8. It isn't the right fit.
Maybe the place or role was once perfect for you, but you have changed – or it has changed, and it just isn't working like it used to. Or perhaps it was never a great fit, but you stuck around hoping something would change. It hasn't, and at this point, it's unlikely that anything is going to shift. You've begun to feel like a square peg in a round hole. Don't change your shape to fit in the wrong place. Allow God to transition you to a place or role where you don't feel the constant pressure to squeeze into a mold not made for you.
9. Your current place/position has become damaging or harmful.
Sadly, not everything that starts well, ends well.
When Jacob and his sons moved to Egypt during a famine, they initially experienced great favor and honor. However, years later, a new pharaoh who knew nothing about Joseph began to severely mistreat the Hebrews. Therefore, God called Moses to deliver His people from this oppressive and abusive environment.
Sometimes God transitions you because something has changed in your environment. A place that was once safe and welcoming has become toxic and destructive. A relationship has become abusive. A boss demeans and mistreats you. A job has become too isolating. A church or ministry has become controlling. To remain there will be damaging or detrimental to your well-being.
Of course, I'm not talking about leaving just because something is difficult. Everywhere has challenges and bad days. I'm referring to when it has become harmful or detrimental to your physical or emotional health to remain there.
Move on. Do whatever you need to do. You must protect yourself and those under your care.
10. It's just time to change.
Again, Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us that "...there is a specific time for every activity under Heaven." Maybe God is saying to you, "Your time here is up." And you can't change God's timing. This most likely doesn't mean that you immediately resign and walk away, but you can start to plan and prepare for your exit. Quietly pack your bags as you determine to leave as well and honorably as you can...
As you reflect on your personal journey, can you relate to any of the above points? Do you see God's sovereign hand in your own significant transitions? What about today? Do any of the above apply to your current situation? If so, take some time and bring it before God in prayer.
Eight Questions You Can Ask God
Here are some questions you might ask Him:
1. What are You doing in my life right now?
2. Am I entering a new season?
3. Why do I feel so much discomfort or boredom in my current environment?
4. Have I stopped growing and being stretched in this place?
5. Is there much more inside me that I'm unable to express in this place/role?
6. Do I constantly feel contained and stifled?
7. Where are You leading me?
8. What is the next step I should take?
You could be in the middle of a transition, but until now, you haven't realized it. If you discover that you're in between two seasons, here's my advice: Start to dress for the season you're entering, not the one you're leaving behind.
(Excerpt from Craig Cooney's ebook The Threshold: 100 Days of Prophetic Keys and Biblical Insights for Crossing Over in 2024.)
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Craig Cooney
HOPE Church | Daily Prophetic
Email:Â contactdailyprophetic@gmail.com
Website:Â dailyprophetic.com
Craig Cooney has been in ordained ministry for 15 years, leading churches in the north and south of Ireland. He is married to Becky and they have a very active nine-year-old son called Elijah, as well as a labradoodle puppy called Henry. Craig is the author of four books: "The Tension of Transition," "SPIRIT SPEAK," "I Hear Yahweh," and "When the Lamb Roars." His passion is to help Believers to hear God's voice for themselves and apply God's wisdom as they navigate through the transitions of life.
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