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Change vs Transition

Blog — August 9, 2009

We all know that change is one thing – transition is yet another, because it is during times of transition that we better understand the changes that have already taken place. And sometimes transitions can be challenging. Which is why it is so important to anchor transitions to some important scriptural moorings.
Not too long ago I spent time meditating on some of the leaders in scripture, and how they responded during their times of transition. Specifically, I reflected on their first requests to God after they were initially consecrated into their new roles of leadership.
The first leader I thought of was Moses. What was his first request after he was commissioned to deliver the Israelites? One of Moses’ first prayer requests is found in Exodus 6:12: "The Israelites have not listened to me, so why should Pharaoh take any notice of a poor speaker like me?" The background is that not only had Pharaoh denied Moses' request to release the Israelites, but he then forced them to make their bricks without straw, greatly adding to their labor. This had infuriated the Israelites and they rejected Moses.
So Moses comes to the Lord and basically says, "Why would you use me, an unskilled man?" Not a very significant first prayer from a man destined to be the great Lawgiver. And yet, we see in this prayer a man very much in touch with his weaknesses. Very much in touch with who he was. One day, Moses would be known for the ages as a man of humility. Little wonder that we hear the theme of humility resonated in this prayer. This was not the prayer of unbelief. It was not the prayer of doubt. It was the prayer of a man in touch with who he was. And that is the measure of humility: it is being known precisely for who we are.
Transition Prayer One: Keep us rooted in humility. Keep us in touch with our weaknesses as well as our strengths – to know who we are and who we are not.
The second leader I considered was David. His request to the Lord is somewhat veiled. And again, it is not the kind of prayer for power or wisdom that we would expect a leader to pray. After David is consecrated as the King of Israel, his first request of God is recorded in 2 Samuel 2:5,6. David's friend Jonathan had just been killed in battle along with his father, Saul. Messengers came to a grieving David, and told him that the people of Jabesh in Gilead had given Saul, David's enemy, a proper burial. To which David responded, "May you be blessed by Yahweh for showing this faithful love to Saul." In other words, David, taking stock of what these had done to his enemy responded in the spirit of reconciliation.
He could have taken their response as an indication of their allegiance to Saul, and their subsequent reluctance to come under his own authority. He could have taken it as disloyalty. Instead he chose to bless those who blessed his enemy. It was as if David prayed, "Lord, would you bless those who showed kindness to my enemy?"
Transition Prayer Two: Lord, Help us be people of reconciliation.
And then I looked at Joshua. After he received the baton of leadership from Moses, we have to read quite a ways into the book of Joshua to find his first personal request of the Lord. It came on the eve of battle at Jericho.
The Israelites had crossed the Jordan miraculously, and now were facing Jericho. The image we have of Joshua on the eve of battle is a poignant one – Joshua taking a long walk. Reflecting, wondering, thinking about how they would take the land.
Suddenly he sees a man in front of him grasping an unsheathed sword. Joshua is apprehensive, but intrigued, and walks toward him. "Are you on our side" he asks, "or on our enemies' side?" To which the man replied, "On neither side. I have come now as the Captain of the army of Yahweh."
All at once, Joshua knew he was in the presence of deity and he fell down and worshiped Him, "What has my Lord to say to his servant?" One instantly sees two things here: Joshua's initial response of worship and his subsequent appetite for obedience. In a sense, what Joshua is saying when he says "Who are you?" is “I want to know who you are.” And this is the heart of worship. It is coming to the Lord and asking, “Who are you – I want to know who you are!” And when the worshiping heart encounters the Lord, the immediate response is "In what will you have me obey?"
Transition Prayer Three: "Lord make us people of worship, knowing that people of true worship seek not only to encounter you, but obey you." Worship is only genuine if it renders the heart obedient.
These prayers are certainly good ones to pray when in times of transition and new assignments – but actually, they’re good prayers to pray every day of our lives. We will all face changes this year. And in these days of increasing uncertainty, may these ancient leaders show us road maps of prayer that will guide us into that peace which the world cannot take away.