Connecting the Dots: What God Is Doing When Life Doesn't Make SenseSample

The Turning Point

When I was twelve years old, my family moved to Guatemala, Central America. Within just a few weeks of arriving, an earthquake jolted us awake during the night. We all scrambled outside and waited for the shaking to stop.

I had never experienced an earthquake before, and it was a pretty frightening experience. The next few days were filled with aftershocks that left me constantly feeling off balance. To top it off, the volcanoes started erupting and spewing ash. The sky was a hazy, eerie color and blocked out the sun. It felt like the end of the world.

I remember expressing my concern about the earthquakes and volcanoes to a missionary who had been living in Guatemala for over thirty years. He was unfazed. “Oh, that’s just because seasons are changing. There’s always some shaking when the seasons change.” I learned that Guatemala has a dry season and a rainy season. When the seasons are about to shift, the volcanoes become more active, and there are lots of tremors.

I think that’s a pretty good picture of how most season changes happen in our lives. Our world starts shaking. It gets cloudy and hazy. It can be a jolting experience.

King Solomon talked about how life happens in seasons. Seasons always change, which means life always changes. When a season changes, it can be really uncomfortable and cause lots of shaking.

Take a moment to look at the circular pattern below. It's from my book Connecting the Dots, that talks about the circular pattern of God’s work in our lives. In each circle or season of life, there's a fairly predictable pattern you can expect -- in fact, that's also the pattern for all the great stories and movies we love. I believe that pattern resonates with us in stories because it's also how God works.

Every great story -- including yours -- tend to start with a turning point. A character (or you) is living their life, minding their own business, when something happens that changes everything. Luke Skywalker meets two droids. Frodo is asked to destroy a ring. Neo discovers the Matrix. In that moment, their world changes, and they’re thrown into an adventure. This moment is a turning point.

Some turning points in our life are expected and hoped for -- getting married, having a child, retirement. Others aren't -- illness, losing a job, relational conflict. Expected or unexpected, the turning point changes everything and starts a new season. That new season is preparation for something God has ahead for you.

Today, I’d encourage you to take a moment and look at the most recent change that has happened in your life. What was your most recent turning point?

Over the next few days in this Bible reading plan, we’ll look at how we can respond to these turning points in our lives – job changes, moves, loss of a loved one, marriage, divorce—and how we can begin to embrace what God wants to do in our lives during the times of shaking and discomfort. God is right there with us in these times, working all things together for the good of those who love him.

So don't be afraid to embrace the journey -- which is what we'll talk about next. Courage.