ICS Daily Devotions
How to Transition Well
Colossians 3:9-11 (NKJV) Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
Transitions in life are inevitable, but if we have built our identity in our “old man” and identify ourselves with our “doing” instead of being in Christ, our emotions can take a roller-coaster ride when this identity is shaken, leading to what we commonly call an identity crisis.
Why is “trailing spouse” such a demeaning term to some? It may be because our identity is in the position we hold in society. Being a trailing spouse doesn’t give us a very secure identity because the role can be deemed as insignificant, but struggle to accept it may cause us to detest our daily lives, take it out on our spouse and children, and blame them for our misery. However, it doesn’t have to be a misery if our identity is corrected and we begin to enjoy the time that we have with our children during their formative years. If you ae a trailing spouse, perhaps God has given you this opportunity to reconstruct your identity in Christ.
On the other hand, if we have developed our identity based on our sense of self-worth, we will use the same measure against our trailing spouse and see them as worthless against our success in the corporate world. We may be impatient, sarcastic, easily irritated by and disrespectful towards them in spite of the sacrifices they have had made in supporting us.
In-between jobs is one of the most challenging transitions in life—it is as though everything has been stripped away. No more business card, so no more security. Rejection and lack of response from potential employers can make us feel worthless. Meanwhile, transitioning to a new role, especially in a new industry, can also be hard. Because we have lost our identity based on what we have achieved and were respected for previously, we feel insecure and vulnerable.
If we can’t handle these transitions well, we will most likely suffer from anger, dissatisfaction, and disillusionment in life, which will affect our relationships with our loved ones and friends. These emotions will make our lives miserable because we are unhappy with the current state of our being.
So how can we do to overcome these challenges? The answer is to put off our “old man” and identify ourselves with our new identity in Christ. Jesus came to give us the right identity and self-worth. There is nothing more for us to prove because the redemptive work of Jesus Christ has caused us to be accepted in the Beloved.
Sermon Series: He Came to Give You a New Identity
