Transitions bring pain now, gain later.

The book of Samuel is being read in today’s synagogues around the world. A good question arises, “Why another book? I mean, Samuel was the last judge. Why not include him in the book of Judges and Saul and David in the book of Kings?”

When you think about it, Samuel is a transitional book. It is the bridge from one period or phase of Israel’s history to the next phase. Transition.

And it was a messy transition, too. Samuel was a great prophet, but a lousy father. So the country asked for a king. Problem. The king God had in mind, David, was still a boy shepherd who needed more preparation time.

In the meantime, Israel’s first king, Saul, caused all kinds of messes, some that weren’t cleaned up until Esther became a Persian Queen.

Life transitions are never easy. We all go through them. Think about this for a moment. Each step is a transition from one place to another. Isn’t interesting that Scripture talks about our relationship with God as a walk? Transition.

Our walks with Christ were never meant to be stagnant, but dynamic. We can fear these transitions and stay stuck in our old way of thinking/choosing. Or, we can embrace them and allow the Spirit to change in and hope to our lives.

The world is quite possibly entering into another big messy transition with the war in Israel. Will they see hope or fear in our eyes? Prayerfully, it will be hope.