From the desk of Asst. Pastor Anthony Hurst

Photo by careerattraction.com

Transition is a process in which God moves you from one situation to another. The key to the process is that you can’t go into a new situation without transformation. In other words, you can’t go to a new level in God with your old way of thinking.

Transition often times is very uncomfortable. You leave a situation in which you are familiar (not necessarily a good one), and enter a new realm in which you start over. You go back to an infant stage (beginning). Metaphorically speaking, it is like being born again. It is that time in which God takes you through the wilderness to wean you from the old so you can survive in the new. You know the cliché “you can take the man out of the hood, but you can’t take the hood out of the man.” God had to take the children of Israel through the wilderness to renew their minds from the old mentality of 400 years of slavery. All of them, except for two, died in the wilderness because of their fear and unbelief. What was supposed to be an 11 day journey, took 40 years for them to trust and rely on God. How long will it take us?

One more thing. Transition also involves cleansing. When a baby is conceived, it begins to grow in the mother’s womb. After three trimesters, it becomes uncomfortable in the womb (situation & dimensions) and the birthing process begins. When the baby is born, he or she is covered with blood and fluids and has to be cleaned. The Bible says that when you clean your house, the enemy leaves. When he can’t find rest, he returns with seven more demons (Matt. 12: 43-45). Some of us wonder why sometimes a person’s condition worsens when they come to Christ. They don’t fill their houses after cleaning them. How do I fill my house Brother Dudley? With God’s word and worship (John 15:3-8; John 4: 23-24).

Just like that newborn can’t clean himself, we have to trust (by faith) that Jesus dying on the cross has cleansed us from all unrighteousness. As we repent and transition from sinner to saved, we must fill our house (heart and mind) with God’s word to survive in the newness of life that God is leading us to.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank you for giving us you son, Jesus, to die for our sins. I pray that as we transition to your kingdom, you create in us a clean heart and renew the right spirit in us to become sons and daughters through faith in Jesus. Thank you God for the grace and mercy you’ve shown to us. In Jesus name! Amen!