Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 reads,

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

This morning we announced a new season that is beginning in our lives. A new chapter of ministry. A new place. It is bittersweet and exciting all at the same time. This morning we announced that God is sending Cindy and I on a new ministry assignment as the co-pastors in Pella, Iowa. As we’ve been praying about this for the last three months, these verses from Ecclesiastes have been on my mind. There is a time for everything – God’s timing.

As we all enter this season of transition and change, we need to remember that seasons of transition and change can be confusing, overwhelming, and just plain scary sometimes. We wonder about the possibilities of what’s ahead, which may seem endless and can cause great worry. It is easy to worry when you don’t know what the future holds. Although these times of transition and change may cause great worry, we must remember that our God is the one who holds our future. We must remember that we serve a God that knows the beginning and the end. We must remember that our God is walking alongside us as we undergo these many changes in our lives and is well aware of our fears and concerns. One of the greatest ways to remind ourselves of what God has to say during these times of transition and change is reading the Scriptures and spending one-on-one time with the Lord in prayer. God has left us with the Scriptures to help give us peace during these seasons where everything around us or in us is changing.

Isaiah 43:19 reads, “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”

~Pastor Todd