Fearless: Survivng Transitions

Fearless 2
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Surviving Transitions

Speaker: Rob Cahilog

written by Ana Andres

Change is inevitable and so are transitions in life. There is always something we need to let go of in order to move forward. Be it a situation or a relationship, sometimes we just gotta let it go.

Elsa and the Anthem of Everyone Else

Most of us always just focus on the blessings we will receive. We're too busy wondering if we'll get that new iPhone 6 when really we should learn that God will not only bless us. There are times when he allows trials for us to learn. They come in the form of change, otherwise known as transitions.

Kuya Rob Cahilog defined transitions as, “the process of letting go of the way it used to be and taking home of what they become”. This is something we have to really prepare for because let’s face it: letting go isn’t easy. Once we have become too comfortable with the way things are, we don’t want to step out of that comfort zone any longer.

IT'S HAAAAAARD :|

For an instance, if you’re graduating from high school and now entering college, you’re going to leave your friends and classmates. Everything is new and you don't know what to expect.  Or perhaps your parents are on the brink of separation. You feel anxious and you cry yourself to sleep. You just don’t know what to do. You’re in a transition.

There was also a man in the Bible who experienced a big transition in his life. His name was Joshua.  

During his time, the Israelites and himself were wandering in the dessert for forty years. They were about to cross over God’s promise land when their leader Moses, who started their journey and led them out of captivity from the Pharaoh of Egypt, died. Joshua, being the assistant of Moses, now had the responsibility and burden to lead these people to the promise land. Not only that, he was to lead people who were stiff-necked meaning stubborn and he was to lead them to a place that was unknown. Just imagine  how much of a big burden this was to him.  It was probably overwhelming and it definitely was not easy for him!

Joshua: R U KIDDING ME?!

But this is what God said,

“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” 

 Joshua 1:6-8

So how do we respond to transitions?

- Be strong in the Lord.

God is a big and powerful God. He is so big and powerful that our minds can’t fathom how gargantuan He is.  Because He is strong and everything is under His control, we can depend on Him totally. But questions is, do we truly believe this? Do we depend on Him or do we depend on ourselves?

Do I depend on God or do I depend on meself??

When trouble sets in, the devil tempts us to think that God wasn’t strong enough to protect us from it but we fail to realize that God allowed trouble in our lives so that we have an opportunity to depend on Him and be blessed by His Grace. 

Most of the time, we take matters to our own hands but what we don’t see is that we are limited—we are creatures of time-encased, air/food/sleep-dependent lives and sooner or later, we will run out of willpower. But God is the source of strength, He is the source of power and that is why we have to be strong in Him. Don’t allow the evil one to discourage you from seeking His goodness and Grace. Continue to pray, to read your bible and to fellowship with others!

- Take Courage

Somehow society has given us the wrong perspective that being courageous equates to being a “bad boy” or one that isn’t afraid to break the rules, which is really weird. Why? Wouldn’t you think that following rules is much harder and therefore requires more courage? 

Following rules sometimes means that we let go of certain wants and desires in order to carry it out. It can even means inconvenience. For example, if your teacher leaves the room while your class is taking an exam and everybody else starts copying answers because there’s no way the teacher would know anyways, wouldn’t it be easier to go ahead and cheat too rather than obeying the rules?

God says that true courage means obeying His commands and if we want to overcome the transitions we are going through, we have to obey Him. It’s really easier said than done because truth is, when we’re in a transition and we are midway through its end point, there will be times that we will be controlled by our emotions. It really takes much courage not to depend on our emotions but to depend on God and His promises.

This all seems so hard and complicated. No wonder why so many quit on Christianity. Why then should I go on? Why should I be strong in the Lord and take courage? 

It’s because if we quit, we will miss out on His promises and blessings and because really in the long run, we will realize that it’s much harder to live without Him.

So don't quit! With God, you can survive transitions.