The seasons of our life change. It may be the only true constant, other than our God, that we can count on. Change happens. Relationships change. Often, even if we don’t want them to end, relationships often do. Marriages that were thought to be a forever thing often come to an end. Jobs that we thought were secure often come to an end. People die unexpectedly and we are often unprepared for these hard transitions in our lives.

There are several major stressors or hard transitions in life that we are told can cause harm to us emotionally, mentally, and even cause us physical problems. You have to deal with the hard stuff in these situations and not just ignore it. Divorce, deaths, job changes, moves, breakups, having children are just some of the issues that we may face.

We have to learn how to handle the difficult transitions without letting go of our hope or our faith. We have to remind ourselves that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Even though seasons change, He does not. Nor does His purpose or plan for us.

Storms will come, but they don’t last forever. Hard times happen, but there is always hope for us. Even in the hard times, Holy Spirit wants to help us.

“Every storm eventually runs out of rain.” - Maya Angelo

One of the key issues of hard transitions is just remembering that troubles don’t last always. Transition means that you are coming into something new and that can be scary. But most importantly is dealing with the things that you have been through and making sure they are in your past and not brought into your present.

Traumatic things in our life cause us to grieve. Grief is difficult and can often leave someone in a life-locked embrace. You must process it. I’ve done an entire series on grief that you can listen to. However, the most important thing concerning grief for me is it doesn’t just go away. It must be dealt with.

Grief is a healthy part of the healing process.

If we don’t grieve well, we can’t truly get past traumatic things in our lives. Grief is usually described as deep sorrow, especially that caused by someone's death. But grief is also the response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or something that has died, to which a bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, it also has physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, cultural, spiritual, and philosophical dimensions.

The grief journey can often be longer than we want, harder than we thought, and deeper than we ever imagined it could be–it is never truly understood by observation.

Some practical things about transitions:
- We have to accept that change is a natural part of life.
- Look for the positive side of the transition. There most often is one.
- Work on identifying and expressing your feelings.
- Depend on your support system. (Small group, church, community, etc.)
- It takes time to transition; be patient with yourself and others.
- Don’t let the enemy isolate you from everyone. You actually do need help!
- Learn to be ok with feeling uncomfortable.
- Understand that things will get better.

The writer of Hebrews reminds them of what they have been through. The hardships no doubt caused much grief. But he says they joyfully accepted these hardships because they knew that there was a greater reward waiting and that they had better possession. Then they are encouraged to not throw away their confidence because confidence has great rewards!

What does it mean to throw away your confidence?

Confidence: 3954 parrhēsía (– properly, confidence (bold resolve), leaving a witness that something deserves to be remembered (taken seriously).

When we go through the hard transitions of life, we are often tempted to let go of our hope or give up on our faith. The things we speak will reveal where we are. The condition of the soul is always on the tip of the tongue. We must guard our hearts.

Do you feel you have thrown away your confidence because of the hard situations you have gone through? Would you dare to ask Holy Spirit to help you deal with it so you can walk free from the past?