Rob Streetman
Are you in a season of transition? Maybe you sense God’s call toward the next steps into the “more” He has for you. God has a way of maximizing the “more.” In the discovering phase ‒ we seek to hear and understand God’s purpose for the next season of our lives.
As the children of God, and participants in His good work, we are eternally “in process.” The Bible prescribes His ways for salvation, sanctification, and all the other big Kingdom processes. Looking closely, we also find His prescriptions for building the church (Ephesians 4:11-16) and evangelizing the world (John 17:21-23).
The Lord has a way for everything. When we follow His ways, He gets involved ‒ sometimes just to show that His ways are the best ways. We ignore His ways at our peril.
God has put desires in each of our hearts for the good works that we should walk in; and He has promised to give them to us (Psalm 37:4). Regrettably, many of God’s children fail to consider ‒ much less meet ‒ the conditions of this awesome promise. As important as these good works are to God, it should not surprise us to discover that He has prescribed a way for finding and securing the desires that produce them.
Those willing to dig a little deeper will not only find the desires for their next season, but also the way He has designed to successfully walk in them. Let’s take a look at the process into the next season through Psalm 37.
Step 1: Get focused.
Do not fret because
of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.
We must first take our eyes off the world and focus them on Jesus. Beholding His glory, we will be transformed into the same likeness, by the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18). Furthermore, we will avoid being conformed to the ways of the world (Romans 12:2).
Step 2: Trust exclusively.
Trust in the Lord,
The Lord (i.e., Father, Son and Holy Spirit) desires and has commanded us to trust Him. To trust in anything or anyone else is idolatry.
Step 3: Walk faithfully.
… and do good;
As with the rich young ruler, to “do good” is an essential prerequisite for walking in good works (Matthew 19:16-22). Sadly, there are many do-gooders that reject Jesus’ calling and go away sorrowful ‒ never to receive their heart’s desires.
Step 4: Rely on His faithfulness.
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
The Lord promised “the land” to the Israelites. He has promised something much greater in the New Covenant ‒ abundant life in His kingdom. To experience this life, we must dwell in Jesus Christ and submit ourselves to the kingdom that is at hand (Mark 1:14-15).
Step 5: Give in to His purposes.
Delight yourself
also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Here, we enter into the heart of the Lord’s way for good works, and the joy of our next adventure. The Hebrew word translated as “delight” means “to be soft” ‒ like clay in the Potter’s hands (Isaiah 64:8). We must surrender to the Lord ‒ to form us into whatever vessel best suits His purposes (Romans 9:21).
Surrender to the Lord, and He will give you the desires (that He has put in) your heart. In this way, He is glorified and His purposes are accomplished. His glory and purpose must always be our ultimate objective.
As we surrender, the Lord reveals and breathes on our desires. Like a fire, they intensify. With that intensity comes revelation for the hope of our calling, its importance to Him, and the power He has towards us for its manifestation (Ephesians 1:15-21).
Step 6: Stay committed.
Commit your way to
the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
At this point in the process, our surrender and faith are tested.
Committing our way to the LORD does not mean getting Him to bless our plans. This seems obvious, but our minds are devious tricksters. The best laid plans of man will not succeed in the LORD’s kingdom. It is sobering to realize that He will allow us to pursue them until we find ourselves up a pole (Isaiah 30:15-18).
Those pursuing the LORD’s way, “roll off” their way to the LORD. In other words, they give every expectation and dream to Him. In exchange, He brings the best plan to fruition. Our striving to achieve worldly success and recognition is no longer necessary. In fact, it is detrimental and distracting.
Step 7: Become a participant and instrument.
He shall bring forth
your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.
The Lord’s success in our lives results in the revelation of the Son as our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30), and the display of His justice. For the most part, we just need to get out of His way. The Lord only requires our love and humble participation. Being the instrument of such a display is exceedingly abundantly more than we can think or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).
Transition seasons into kingdom adventures are not for lone rangers. It is imperative that you find others to walk through this process with you ‒ preferably someone that has been there before. Once you have gained some experience of your own, you will be qualified and called to help others ‒ a benchmark of Christian leadership.
God bless you with the knowledge of the fullness of His will for the next season of your life.
This article originally appeared here.