Brave Change: Navigating Uninvited Seasons a 6 -Day Plan by Krista PettifordSample

Introduction:

Are you experiencing a season of uninvited change you did not choose that has altered the trajectory of your life? A season of hard things that make you question your identity, purpose, or God's plans for you. Are you stalled at a divine intersection between your past and an unknown future but know you need to move forward despite the many uncertainties?

I have experienced uninvited change and followed God into an unknown future. I invite you to join me for this 6-day reading plan of the Book of Ruth, about two widowed women that bravely navigated their season of uninvited change with grace, grit, and faith in God's goodness.The principles in their story encouraged me in my season of uncertainty. It is my prayer that this challenge will help women navigating seasons of uninvited find the courage to trust God and follow Him forward.

Krista

The Courage To Move Forward

"Time and chance happen to everyone."

Ecclesiastes 9:11

"Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab."

Ruth 1:6

It takes courage to embark on a new path when you don't know how the future will unfold.

The Hebrew word chance implies change, as in an event, expected or unexpected, good or bad, that changes the trajectory of your life.

I define these significant life changes as divine intersections. An intersection is a place where two or more roads meet. A divine intersection is a pivotal time when an old season ends and a new season begins, and God presents us with an opportunity to move forward with Him, or we can stay in an expired season. He leaves the decision to us.

Change can be losing a job, taking on a new role in a job or ministry, or leaving a church or a community. It can be children leaving the nest. Change can be health or financial issues, death, or divorce. Sometimes we plan the changes in our lives, and at other times change is forced upon us because of other people's decisions, things we cannot control, or time and chance.

My mother passing away years after my divorce was the pivotal event that compelled me to choose to move forward. Her passing was like a flashing red light, telling me to stop and decide how I wanted to spend the rest of my life – stuck in the past or embracing change and enjoying the time I still have.

Naomi walked through a long season of change she did not choose. She lost her husband and then, ten years later, her sons. Losing her sons was the pivotal event that created the divine intersection between Naomi's former life with everything familiar, suddenly just memories and an unknown future.

Naomi could have chosen to stay in Moab and live in a familiar place with all her memories, but she decided to move forward. She bravely chose to return to Bethlehem and trust God with her future, even though she had questions about her identity and what would become of her life.

I had questions about my future when I finally moved forward. Accepting that things didn't work out the way I hoped and prayed they would and believing that God had a plan for my future gave me the courage to take my first step and trust Him to make all things work together for my good.

You won't have all your questions answered when you take your first steps toward your future. You may still have some fears about the unknown. Take courage, knowing that God is with you, He is for you, and He has a future for you.

What must happen for you to gather your courage to move forward?