Seasons of Transition
On the 3rd of December 2021, I hastily packed my luggage and was on my way home after 3 weeks of enrolling for my second degree. On the outside people saw a lively exuberant young lady, witty and confident; but on the inside, she was depressed and would not even admit it to herself.
Having quit her job about 2 months ago to focus on getting her degree, the first thing that triggered this depression was the sudden feeling of uselessness for 2 months. It was her first time being unemployed in 2 years, she had gotten so used to the motions of constant activity, jumping from one task to the next had made her treat rest like water in a desert land, but now she had left the desert and was surrounded by rivers of rest. It was weird and disconcerting, to say the least, and her lack of any active work made her feel as though she had lost her purpose. Resuming school pushed her further into this rabbit hole of depression. After 2 years of solving real-world problems, academia was giving her hypothetical, imaginary problems to solve. “what’s the use of all this?” she asked. “What is the point of school?”
For someone who had spent 19 years of her life in academic institutions, this 2-year break had completely changed her perspective on the entire institution, it was a culture shock of some sort, coupled with the fact that she was no longer earning like she used to, her lavish lifestyle, had to turn into a prudent and penny-pinching endeavour, coupled with the fact that she still felt like she had been pressured into applying for this degree, even though she had made the decision independently by herself.
She was depressed and devoid of purpose and just sought to make meaning of her life and the world once again.
Change is hard. Very difficult. Tough. Challenging. -Insert more adjectives-
The Israelites in the book of Deuteronomy could relate to this on another level. After 40 years in the wilderness, the only leader they had ever known was retiring, worse still he was sending them into the promised land, he had promised them of battles, they were going to have to not just live without him, but fight without him, and the idea was scary. He was leading them into the unknown, but he was not going to be going there with them. They were alone, yes, he had appointed a new leader for them, but in that transition period, Joshua could never be like Moses, in fact, I’m sure many would have doubted his ability. They would have been plagued by sentimental attachments to their leader, though not a perfect man, he was the only leader many of them had ever had. So the book of Deuteronomy is like a pep talk and a lecture at the same time, he encouraged them to trust God and also taught them again about how to live and act.
In Chapter 31, he begins rounding up and encourages them in verses 6 through 8 (NKJV)
“ 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” 7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. 8 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
He tells them twice to be strong and courageous, he also tells them twice that the Lord will neither leave nor forsake them. Transitions are hard Moses knew that well, so he had to reaffirm for them that they were not just going to be fine in the end, but that God himself was going with them.
We are about to enter into a new year, a new season, and change and transition are imminent. So I’ll leave you with Moses’ parting words, which got me through my last season of transition.
Be strong and courageous, God will never leave you nor forsake you, do not be afraid or discouraged.
