Transition for Transformation Week 1: The Power in Pivoting by Emmanuel Philor Sr.

 Transition for Transformation: The Power in Pivoting

Advent marks the beginning of the liturgical calendar. I guess it's only fitting that the church year begins with the reminder that Jesus is coming. The Advent season, often conflated with the Christmas season, recognizes the initial coming of Jesus to Earth as a means of reminding us that he's coming back.   Through this, we acknowledge the gospel through the birth, the life, the death, the resurrection, and the second coming of Jesus Christ. The gift of this reminder is that it allows us to reposition ourselves for him to come back. It reminds us that our time is limited and should be used wisely.

I have learned the lesson that in life, it is genuinely impossible to remain still. Despite the reality of us taking our feet off the pedal, we are unable to stop moving. Regardless of the speed, we are either moving forward or backward. The weight of this reality is that we often don't know we are moving backward until it's noticeable to those who aren't truly paying attention. No matter what happens in our life, the clock keeps ticking, calendars keep going, and seasons keep changing. It is our responsibility to navigate our lives around the movement that is happening around us. In the past two years, we have had many setbacks and challenging issues to deal with. While the pandemic caused some, others found the virus to be the least of their concerns. We had loved ones dying, depression numbers skyrocketing, unemployment and layoffs were common, shortage of money for bills, and the like. But, alongside this, people were out celebrating the great things that have happened for them. If this season has not taught us anything, it proved that everything is worthy of celebration. But as we are celebrating, we have learned the power in the Pivot.

Pivoting calls for our attention to be shifted from the present focus to something bigger and better. For us, as believers, we spend our lives pivoting. This is the premise of Isaiah 43:18, which states, "Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old." We dwell in and often revert to the former things because they are comfortable. What if our deliverance and Transformation lie within our ability to Pivot? Pivoting calls for us to shift our focus from one thing to another. The power in pivoting is found in focusing on something better than before. As we go through the advent season, let's pivot towards Transformation. But, we can only transform if we transition. What I love most about Advent is the transitional piece. We have an entire season gathered around the idea that Jesus is coming. Every year, and the season in which we acknowledge his return, we gather to tell the world that Jesus is on the way. Way. We don't know the hour, we don't know the day, but what we do know is He's on the way.

For many of us, our uncertainty is why we pivot. Because we don't have the time to waste, it creates an urgency in here and now, making our Transformation personal and reflective. The beauty of this is that because we all come from different walks of Pivot. The Pivot looks different for many of us. Some of us walk away from bad habits and the former things at the drop of a dime, while others of us gradually forget more and more every day. This helps to see God through different lenses and genuinely overcome by the words of others' Testimonies. But the Pivot doesn’t require a long list of prerequisites. To pivot, we need to take one step today better than yesterday. It just trains our body to keep forgetting the former as we are transformed.

As we forget the former things, let's look intently at verse 19, which reminds us that God is about to do a new thing. If we don't pivot from the former to the new thing, we will miss what God has for us in this season. Let's make the conscious effort to forget the pain, regret, worry, stress, and the like. Let us set aside the weights that beset us and press toward the Pivot. The gift of transitioning is that we get to encounter the grandeur of God. When we pivot with God:

·         The good news is proclaimed to the poor

·         Liberty is proclaimed to the captives

·         The blind recover their sight

·         The oppressed are liberated

·         And, the year of the Lord's favor is proclaimed

As we enter the season of Advent, let us be reminded that Jesus is coming, and none of us know when. Let us be so transformed that everyone who encounters us encounters Jesus. Until he comes back, let us be reminded that he still dwells with us and within us. Let's not miss out on what is to come because the former thing binds us. Let's begin to Pivot!!

I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. - Isaiah 43:19