The Bible says that God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts, His ways higher than our ways. It also says that He gives us freewill, and that is where our own thoughts and ideas influence our circumstances. God’s plans for us are for us to live full lives, fulfilling His unique purposes for each of us – that our joy may be made complete in His.

How do we posture ourselves so that this place of fulfilled joy becomes a constant in our lives?

‘Curveball’ is a term from baseball where the pitcher throws the ball with a spin, causing a surprise deviation from a straight path. The unpredictability and speed of this makes it difficult for the batter to hit the ball with accuracy. The good news for us believers is that God is in control – even over the curveballs of life!

Knowing this, how then should we respond in these unexpected situations?

Moving from one place to another evokes different responses from different people. Leaving the familiar behind, and approaching unfamiliarity can be uncomfortable, even daunting. There is one constant that we have, and that is God. Scripture tells us again and again that He is the same yesterday, today, and He continues to be.

What does leaning on Him through transitions look like?

We cannot give what we do not have. When Jesus came, fully man, He experienced the same things we do so that He could fully relate with what we go through. Jesus experienced rejection so that He could redeem and come back as an overcomer. The beginning and end of our struggles sometimes so consume us – but – the in between is where the rebuilding and redeeming happens so that we can emerge victorious.

In the opening verses of Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi, he says “…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…”. This tells us that God’s work in us is current and will continue until the end of our time. This is the assurance that when we come into the covenant of relationship with God as believers, He will never leave us or forsake us. How do we engage with the Holy Spirit in us as we navigate the trials and difficulties in life?

“Let not our longing slay the appetite of our living,” penned the missionary Jim Elliot in a letter.

Sometimes to get us through difficult or challenging situations, we look ahead to the next season or promise. The fine line falls between whether we take that as motivation to work through our journey, or where we grow frustrated or even resentful at the ‘now’ that we are in. How should we navigate the positions of our current reality and our transitions?

When God nudges our hearts to do something, it is always an invitation to partnership with Him. Often our natural instinct is to respond based on what we think our capacity or capability is. We might make excuses – almost as if we know better than the One who made us! What do we have in our hands? Are we willing to partner with Him for His greater purposes?

“For every tree is known by its own fruit…” Luke 6:44a

There are many instances in the Bible where the analogy of trees are used to describe the life of a believer. ‘A tree planted by streams of living water’ gives us a picture of us being rooted in God, our source of Living Water. The fruit that trees bear is not for their own consumption, but to be enjoyed by others. Likewise, the fruit of our lives becomes our testimony to those who come in contact with us. What does our fruit look and taste like?