Going from that place, he went into their synagogue,
and a man with a shriveled hand was there.
Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus,
they asked him,
"Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"
He said to them,
"If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath,
will you not take hold of it and lift it out?
How much more valuable is a person than a sheep!
Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."
Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."
So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.
But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
Matthew 12:9-14
Transition: a change from one state or condition to another
We must open up our hands and release what we have held onto for so long in preparation for what God wants to give us now.
If our hands are shut tight, there is no room to receive what has been promised to us.
Even in time of transition, people will still disagree, misunderstand and refuse to believe that you are shifting into a new season of blessings but just as Jesus healed the mans hand on the sabbath (which was against the laws of man), and just as he was rebuked by the Pharisees for this miracle, even so will God transition us in the proper time regardless of what man thinks should happen in our life.
We must not miss this time of transition because of a lack of faith either. Sometimes we may not be able to see transition happening but we can feel it coming. Do not deny the spirit of God speaking these things to your heart.
Transition comes and if we refuse to let go of the things of the past and present, then we miss our opportunity to receive the things stored up for our future. We miss that open window of transition in our life and we sit stagnant in that place impatiently waiting for it to come again. Why do you think so many people are miserable? They may not say it but we can see it. They become stuck in a rut because they missed the opportunity to transition smoothly. A ripple of frustration is released and regret settles in.
A transition is meant to be smooth like one color blending into another. They both take on properties/qualities of the other. You can see both colors but the creation between the two is a masterpiece. You see, we often view transition as a bumpy ride, a moment of uncertainty, but God meant transition to be a releasing of ourselves from one season and a receiving of our new selves from a new season. When a tree goes through seasons it takes on some appearances that we might often view as unpleasant. We see the leaves loosen up and prepare to drop in Fall. We see the tree shed every bit of its glory in the Winter leaving an empty shell that looks dried up and deceased, but what we fail to see is the beauty of new buds waiting patiently for the proper moment to release in all their glory creating a masterpiece in full bloom for the Spring.
Transition may not be beautiful but what it yields in time will be well worth the journey through it. I actually enjoy the transition phase. Do I enjoy the shedding of my leaves? Do I look forward to the bare appearance of my life? Absolutely! Because I know God has begun to remove the things which do not belong, he is creating a new canvas for a new masterpiece. My life is not left void in this time of transition but is much lighter without the weight of the past. So I will gladly walk with my head held high as the leaves of my past fall off one by one in preparation for a fullness that I can not even comprehend. It's a fullness in the next season that will gracefully wave in the wind touching every life I meet. Why would we want to touch people with our past? We wouldn't. Oh, and by the way, the moment we walk watching each leaf fall off one at a time, it doesn't happen all at once. Each leaf must fall when it's ready and it will take time. So pray and ask God for patience and grace through this time of transition.
The transition of our own life yields fruit in the end for others to see. When we go through and come out full of grace, others will have the faith to know that it's ok to open up those hands and release what we no longer need in our life and allow God to fill those hands with greatness.
I always come back to this one point at the end of each blog because I just can't help it....
"We all have a purpose for our lives even if we can't see it right away"
I am so heartbroken at times when I hear of young people ending their lives or just desiring to do so. Why has no one spoken words into their life to uplift and reassure them that their life is on purpose no matter their current situation?
My daughters amaze me every time they open their mouth, but one thing I love to hear them say or do is remind people of the power of our tongues. At different times I've heard them say "don't say that, your words are powerful"...to adults! It can be something so simple as "oh this is going to be a bad day" and these precious girls of mine open up their mouth with no hesitation and remind these adults that what they speak will determine the outcome. How powerful is that?! We need to take a faith lesson from our children :)
Remember your purpose on this earth is to touch lives, save lives. It doesn't matter how we do it, because God has equipped us with different gifts and abilities, but we do have a great purpose and our time is not up until we have fulfilled that purpose.
Remember this one thing about the man in the synagogue with the shriveled up hand. He wasn't there looking for a miracle, he wasn't pulling on Jesus begging to be healed but Jesus stepped up and chose him. Jesus spoke to the Pharisees first and addressed their concern, then he told the man to stretch out his hand and the man was healed. The man was in that place at the appointed time of his life, he made himself available, he did not argue, fight or question why him, and he had faith enough to act on what Christ asked him to do. And he never spoke a word. Now that's faith! Walk it out, don't question or complain, just believe. Let God do the rest.
You're transition is upon you, as is ours. Do not miss the open door to say "yes Lord, I will trust and believe" and watch him move you to a place of new purpose.
Be blessed :)
