Pursuing God frequently calls for the successful navigation of transitions. It’s not only the obvious transitions such as changing careers or locations, but also internal adjustments that come as a result of God’s movement, whether the movement is on a personal level or a global scale. God is unchanging, but He does like to change things up sometimes. When He does new things, we don’t want to be caught entrenched as were the Pharisees. They not only held tightly to how God did things in the past, but they also built traditions around those things and held those traditions, rather than God’s present work, as sacred.
The Text
Much of the New Testament is a result of transition, the byproduct of God doing His biggest new thing in Jesus. Old ways (e.g., circumcision, dietary laws) were difficult for them to bid farewell.
One of the most famous transition scenes of all time, a scene that gives us insight into handling our own transitions, occurred in a vision of Peter’s. Acts 10 is a play-by-play account of a spiritual adjustment asked of Peter. Find your nearest Acts 10 (e.g., Bible app, website or actual Bible) and read the chapter using the cues below as a guide.
The Setup:
Acts 10:1-10
The Vision:
Acts 10:11-13
Peter’s objection and tight hold to his past:
Acts 10:14
The message of the vision, a hint at God’s new thing:
Acts 10:15
Repetition is the mother of learning and the essence of getting a point across. It left Peter wondering and thinking, at least until he had opportunity to apply what he learned.
Acts 10:16-23
The point of the vision, God’s new thing revealed:
Acts 10:23-33
Peter shows he understands the vision and makes the transition.
Acts 10:34-43
The transition takes hold.
Acts 10:44-48
Think About It
When God moves, transition ensues. Acts 10 shows us the anatomy of spiritual transition. It shows us that transition neither comes easily, nor does God expect it to come easily for us. God gave Peter an audible voice, rote repetition to drive the point home, and events to reinforce the message. After a fair amount of thinking and wondering, Peter made the adjustments God was asking him to make, accepting as clean all that God had declared clean. By doing so, Peter put himself in position to help usher in the first wave of an historic spiritual tsunami that we still experience today.
God’s movements come in many forms in our lives: new callings, refined missions, different tools, revival. Similar to a boat moving through water, these movements leave a wake of transition. Maybe it’s a new paradigm in thinking or letting go of something familiar and loved. Maybe it’s being open to a new angle on an old truth or seeing a Scripture passage in a different light.
Apply It
When God’s movement comes to a youth ministry it brings change (e.g., a beloved youth pastor leaving, a longtime volunteer stepping down). The ensuing transition, as in Acts 10, will not occur naturally. There will be thinking and wondering. There may be misunderstanding. There may be disappointment. It’s important to teach our students patiently that following God will require adjustments. The transition communicated in Acts 10 is the subject of much of the New Testament. Equipping teens with tools for transition not only goes a long way in their spiritual formation, but also provides opportunity to expose students to a key side of God: He likes to change things up now and then. It’s one of His favorite things to do.
Barry Shafer is director of InWord Resources. He is the author of Unleashing God’s Word in Youth Ministry (YouthSpecialties/Zondervan) and has written many small-group Bible studies for teens. He lives in Middletown, Ohio, with his wife, Jessica, and their infant son, Reade.
