8.23.23 - Acts 16:21-23
Transitions can be terrifying. Unstable ground; new identities; wide-open spaces. How might you embrace the challenge of change today rather than the comfort of conformity?
Then they asked for a king; and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years. When he had removed him, he made David their king. In his testimony about him he said, “I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all my wishes.” Of this man’s posterity God has brought to Israel a Saviour, Jesus, as he promised;
Progression is as awesome as it is terrifying.
People want the transformation but they don’t want the transition. In this passage, Paul, in brief, recounts the history of his people from slavery to salvation.
So connected to the narrative of who they had been that it was difficult for them to connect with how far they had come with God.
This was a pattern for them then even as it is a pattern for many of us today. When we are in a dire situation, we hope for something to come and make things better.
Inevitably there is a plateau and then we look for the next thing. Until Christ. When we finally receive the gift of who we are in Christ, we become aware that transition and transformation always occupy the same place.
What's the change you're seeking, but fearing at the same time? What needs to shift in your mind, body, spirit, or posture in order to take a bold step forward?
--Pedro Silva