God's "Transition" Agenda

I have recently come across a term for the Twenty-somethings: emerging adulthood. This term is coined by Jeff Arnett, a psychologist at Clark University. Arnett contends that a new, distinct life stage is developing for young adults based on social and economic changes. For Arnett, these changes are similar to the ones that led to the introduction of the adolescent stage in the early 1900's. The facts are clear: people are taking longer to pass through the circumstancial marks of arriving into adulthood: completing school, financial independence, and marrying and starting a family. Some people pass these marks at different points and in varying order. Some take longer than others to reach them. This stage of life, Arnett says, is composed of a deeper search for identity and reflection on future possibilities. I am in this stage myself. Like many others in this stage, I am tempted to think that significance only comes when reaching certain milestones in life. The temptation is to think that it is only when I come out on the other side of "transition" that life will truly start to be gratifying. When talking with others about our plans, those of us in this stage often feel the pressure to justify our current status. What I fear is that our focus on arriving into the next stage of life will keep us from experiencing God's transforming power now. I'm thankful that God never asks us to arrive in the next stage of life before He can work. He deals with us right where we are. There are no "transitional" phases with Him.

• David's transitional phase was the exact place where God called him out of leading sheep to leading Israel (1 Sam. 16; Ps. 78:71).
• Moses led the Israelites through the transition of desert life in which they learned to trust God to provide (Ex. 16).
• Paul was "in transition" for three years in which the calling of God was affirmed for Him (Gal. 1:17).

God deals with us in transformational ways, not transitional. If you are like me and in a so-called transitional stage, know that God does amazing things in unexpected places. Thank Him for what He's doing TODAY. Jesus knew the worries of tomorrow would keep us from finding pleasure in God today (Matt. 6). Don't let the uncertainties of your transition trap you into a corner. Living "in transition" can be the most powerful time of your life. It might just be the time that God uses to shape you into who He wants you to be. Open your eyes and ears. Let God do his thing with you TODAY!