Transitions and Transformations
Transitions: noun
movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another; change:
From poverty to wealth
From sickness to health
From loneliness to family
From a junked out car to a working safe car
From a falling-down house to a whole safe livable home
All of these things have outside influences. They are changes that occur from the outside and involve other people to accomplish them.
Deuteronomy 7:12-15
12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers:
13 And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
14 Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle.
15 And the Lord will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.
The Lord shall increase you more and more, you and your children.
Transformations: noun
1.the act or process of transforming.
2.the state of being transformed.
3.change in form, appearance, nature, or character.
From ignorance to knowledge, wisdom, and understanding
From weakness to “strong in the Lord and the power of His might”
From fear to boldness and courage
From apathy to enthusiasm in Him
From prayerlessness to prayerfulness
From rebellious to surrender to Him
From shattered life to wholeness
From powerlessness to strength in the Spirit
All of these things are from inside us. We are changed internally and spiritually to accomplish the transformation. It includes changes of attitude, submission, courage, and actions we accept and obey. No one can change us without our cooperation. They can force us to do actions, for example on your job, a certain chore is part of it. But heart change makes us obey willingly and joyfully. Only the Lord God can help us change our inside person permanently. Our own efforts seem to change with each new circumstance. Transformation makes a permanent change of the heart.
Proverbs 1:1-7
1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
4 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Romans 12
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
2 Corinthians 3:17,18
17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Are we ready for transitions and transformations?
We are the controlling factor in either action. If our faith is in God’s great ability to change our circumstances and to change us, we will have both events happening. We must allow Him entrance into our lives, He does not control us without our permission. We can look forward to those transitions and transformations in our lives this year if we surrender our wills to Him. Growth only happens when we have both transitions and transformations in action.