The Fragile State of Transition Thoughts of Returning by Mike Picone

Exodus 14:12  Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” Israel had just come out of Egypt, and they had seen the hand of God work miracles. Yet they wanted to turn back at the first sign of trouble.

I want to talk with you about the adjustment that needs to take place in us when God brings us from one level to the next, when you are in transition. We in our natural self, or, to put it another way, as Adams children, always want to return to what we are familiar with, even if it is bondage, like Israel.

Just like a pregnant woman is in a fragile state as her body is in transition so we are as we venture into the unknown. We become more susceptible to thoughts of doubt, wanting to turning back, depression, temptation, and wanting to quit.

But the Holy Spirit wants to take us to a new level of believing and trusting God..

First we must understand that we would not know the grace of God for a transition unless we went through it. This transitional grace seems to be a grace that is design just for this. The grace that we normally need at the place we are at now would fail in the transition to a higher level of walking where God wants you next, so a new grace is imparted for this next level.

Some of the most beautiful exhibitions of the laws of matter are brought out in the transitions produced by chemistry. The rapid changes from heat to cold or a solid to a gaseous state, develop properties before unknown, and acquaint us much more intimately with the wonderful works of God …So the Holy Spirit works in us a grace that was unknown to us till this time of transition.

Exodus 13:21  By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.

God can guide you through dark times of trouble, even failure, and also through times of blessing.

I had a man once say that he didn’t want to take a promotion at his job because he was afraid it would cause him to be greedy. I encouraged him that the Lord gave him this promotion because he would have more influence and be in charge of more people that he could witness to…I advised him if he thought he was becoming greedy…give it away.

In times of transition God guides us through the unknown. While Israel was in the wilderness they made God furious, doubting Gods ability to guide them and take care of them. In Psalm 78:19-22 Yes, they spoke against God:
Yes, they spoke against God:
They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 Behold, He struck the rock,
So that the waters gushed out,
And the streams overflowed.
Can He give bread also?
Can He provide meat for His people?”
21 Therefore the Lord heard this and was furious;
So a fire was kindled against Jacob,
And anger also came up against Israel,
22 Because they did not believe in God,
And did not trust in His salvation.

Another thing the Holy Spirit is doing in this time is building your faith for the next level.

Exodus 14:13  Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.”

There are two things to see in this verse – first, stand firm. Faith demands a firm platform. You don’t need a lot of faith – Jesus said just a grain can move a mountain, but it needs to be unwavering.

Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe. George Mueller.

Second, don’t be afraid. Fear will paralyze. Any time I have had an open vision it scared me and the vision would start to disappear: that is why many times you see in the Bible, when an angel appears and tells the person not to be afraid. Fear is actually a product of the sin nature.

1 John 4:18  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

2 Timothy 1:7  For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. The Holy Spirit is working on you to rid you of fear – fear of failure, what if I miss God …fear of the unknown.

John Mason, says;

Don’t ever let your quest for balance become an excuse for not taking the unique, radical, invading move that God has directed you to take. Many times the attempt to maintain balance in life is really just an excuse for being lukewarm. In Joshua 1:6, 7, 9 the Lord says three times to Joshua, “Be strong and courageous.” I believe that He is saying the same thing to all believers today.

Pastor Michael Picone