As soon as you leave high school, everything changes. You are no longer living in your childhood home with your family or going through the same routine with the same friends you grew up with. You start thinking about the future and the uncertainty that lies there. In fact, nothing is the same, and life will always be changing from this point on.

The familiarity of everything is gone. You’re meeting new people, you are learning your way around a new place (and nothing reveals your futility like getting lost in a new city), and trying to understand your new role — whether that is as a student or an employee.

The future lies before you. You are currently deciding what you want to do and who you want to be. This fresh start is exciting and full of possibility. The thought becomes more daunting considering the uncertainty that comes with such big decisions.

But these seasons of change are not time for worry or concern. Instead, they should give us confidence in the person we are becoming. God shapes the seasons in our lives so we become the person He wants to be. Through times of newness, whether they contain struggles or joy, they all serve a purpose.

When facing times of hardship, it is important to look to God instead of looking to familiarity. Circumstances and people change. They are finite, but God is unchanging. It is important to find confidence in something that cannot change, especially during times when life seems to change at every moment.

However, it is important to remember this same principle when times are good. When life is going your way, it is easy to find confidence in yourself. When you seem to settle in, it is easy to think you did everything yourself. Maybe you credit this “success” to people liking you or being naturally talented in a new field — but it can all go away. Confidence should be rooted in nothing less than the greatest security which can only be found, once again, in God.

He provides in both times of scarcity and of plenty, but we must walk in His provision. So, before we get intimidated by our own uncertainty or become overly confident in our own abilities, reevaluate the situation in the context of eternity. Enter into the twists and turns life offers daily with confidence that new situations stretch you to create character that will serves you well as you prepare for the future.