Summer is coming to a close and Fall is right around the corner. I can say with confidence I am SO ready to say "goodbye" to the unbearable southern heat and "hello" to warm sweaters, chilly nights, and bonfire get-togethers. However, I am struggling to embrace this new season of life I find myself approaching.
For many, this time of year is a time of change. Maybe it is meeting your new roommates, starting that new job, moving to a new city, or simply starting the new year at school. If you are like me, this new season also brings a lot of mixed emotions: from hope, to anxiety, to excitement, to fear, to uncertainty, etcetera.
As much as I want to be uncomfortable with this new season, I have to remind myself that this feeling of uncertainty is only temporary. God doesn't call us to live lives of comfort. Rather, He calls us to be brave and lean on Him in times of struggle. It is a common misconception that if we follow Christ, our lives will become easier. The truth is that the ups and downs, or the "seasons of life," are all inevitable. We are going to experience mountain-tops where everything feels perfect, and we are going to experience low valleys where it seems everything is a trial or struggle. Still, we should be grateful for them.
I think Jefferson Bethke said it best: "God doesn't give us the mountain-top experiences so that then we can try to pull that mountain-top experience into our whole life and make our whole life a mountain-top experience. He gives us those mountain-top experiences as special times with Him and special revelation where we can grab hold to those truths, where we can learn them. We can soak in them and then take those into the valleys and the times when it's hard, cause we'll need that."
The valleys allow us to humble ourselves and remember how sweet the mountaintops were. We should carry them near our hearts as comfort and carry them into the valleys.
Not only should we embrace the uncomfortable, we need to strongly reject the enemy's lies. Although it takes every bone in my body, I've learned that this is the moment where I need to fight the most against this fear. This is when I refuse to let the enemy win. The good news is that we have been given the authority to reject his lies and choose the joy God has so freely made available to us. Luke 10:19 says, "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you" (NIV). Jesus reminds us that no harm will come to us, so why do we fear? After all, a new season of life brings so much potential for good. Who knows what God has in store for you in this seemingly-scary new season? Who knows what kind of blessings He wants to give you? If only you would trust Him and move forward in this new uncomfortable environment.
Satan uses anything and everything to separate us from God and the blessings He has in store for us, but here is the amazing thing about God: He has already defeated Satan and is taking our struggle and changing it into into a gift. I take comfort in 1 John 4:4, "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world" (NIV).
So I leave you with this simple message: I know it seems scary standing at the bottom of the mountain looking up, but I know God has good in store for you on the other side. Take comfort in His promises and reject the enemy's lies and keep moving forward.
