Stay in the Present Moment During Your Seasons of Transition

Here in Midcoast Maine, spring is a transitional season. We all know we’re on the way toward something good, but it’s sure taking its good old time getting here. And then, blink, and you’ll miss it!

Whenever I’m in transition, impatience tugs at my coat tails. Neither here nor there yet, I’m tempted to numb out or to hurry my way toward some destination—a focus that’s not the same as where my feet are standing.

The weather and the calendar eventually reconcile, but we all know that other transitions don’t resolve themselves so dependably:

• We manage symptoms and juggle cures while hope for healing bleeds out.
• We wait for reconciliation that stays just out of reach.
• We long-haul pray for God to rescue someone whose choices are breaking our heart.

Standing in the doorway between Hope and Have requires a sinewy faith and a level of perseverance most of us have to trust for—even the Apostle Paul! He wrote about it in his letter to the Romans:

We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5:3-5).

He had prayed for at least some of his suffering to be relieved, and God’s answer had been “no.” God’s gracious response provided Paul with a front-row seat to the process of spiritual formation. Like dominoes falling one after another, our suffering builds endurance. Then, endurance produces character, which enables us to reach for hope in the present moment.

By faith, we join Habakkuk, the Even-If prophet, who stayed present to the real possibility of empty fruit baskets, desolate pastures, and barren barns while still trusting God for joy.

Though the fig tree should not blossom,
    nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
    and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
    and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
    I will take joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:17-18).

The snow has melted on the hill where my garden lives, but the soil is still cold. Even the garlic I planted last fall has enough sense to stay mostly underground for now. The calendar says spring, but we’re still in a season of waiting.

Nevertheless, there’s plenty of work to be done elsewhere. This teaches me that life in the present moment is framed around a crucial question:

What can I do with what’s right here in front of me today?

While we wait for the answered prayer, the healing, the reconciliation, or the stubborn season of cold to move on, we persevere in faith and build endurance. The transitional seasons are no more absent of activity than a drop of pond water under a microscope.

What’s right in front of you today?
Can you sense that God is at work in the present moment, even if you’re waiting for a change?
How can we pray for you in this community of Christ-followers?

Holding You in the Light,

The weather and the calendar eventually reconcile, but we all know that other transitions don’t resolve themselves so dependably. Here’s the question, then: What can I do with what’s right here in front of me today?

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As you know, I’m committed to the truth that women can become confident followers of God and students of his Word, and it’s my goal to help you along that path. At Living Our Days, I provide biblical content and resources to encourage biblical literacy and faithful living, and now I’m sharing devotional content on the YouVersion app. Visit my profile page to get free access to all the reading plans!

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