{"id":285567,"date":"2025-06-10T10:22:53","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T10:22:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/surrender-strength-finding-god-in-new-seasons\/"},"modified":"2025-06-10T10:22:53","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T10:22:53","slug":"surrender-strength-finding-god-in-new-seasons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=285567","title":{"rendered":"Surrender & Strength: Finding God in New Seasons"},"content":{"rendered":"
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You know the feeling. When you\u2019re standing at the edge of something new, and your knees are just a little shaky?<\/p>\n
Recently I caught up with an old friend and she shared how after 30 years of teaching, she finally packed up her classroom for good. The sweet goodbye party was lovely, the handmade cards from students touched her heart, but when she walked to her car with that final box of belongings? She sat there in the parking lot and cried her eyes out.<\/p>\n
Can you relate? <\/p>\n
When the familiar shifts to the unknown, we ask \u201cNow what, Lord?\u201d Who am I now?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
Maybe you\u2019re nodding along because you\u2019re facing your own transition. Perhaps you\u2019ve just become an empty nester, or you\u2019re caring for aging parents, or maybe retirement looms ahead like an undefined landscape. These midlife transitions can leave us feeling both excited and terrified all at the same time. <\/p>\n
When Our Strength Isn\u2019t Enough<\/h2>\n
There\u2019s something humbling about reaching a point in life where we realize our own strength simply isn\u2019t sufficient. For decades, we\u2019ve built careers, raised families, juggled responsibilities, and somehow kept all those plates spinning. We\u2019ve been the strong ones, the dependable ones, the ones with answers.<\/p>\n
And then suddenly, we find ourselves in unfamiliar territory.<\/p>\n
The beautiful truth I\u2019m learning (sometimes the hard way) is that these moments of personal weakness create the perfect opening for God\u2019s strength to shine through. As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10: \u201cMy grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness\u2026 For when I am weak, then I am strong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Isn\u2019t that just like our God? Taking the moments when we feel most inadequate and transforming them into opportunities for His power to work through us!<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
Surrendering the Need to Be Strong<\/h2>\n
For many of us who\u2019ve spent decades being strong for everyone else, surrendering control doesn\u2019t come naturally. <\/p>\n
We think we should know exactly what\u2019s next\u2026because we always have before.\u201d<\/p>\n
What if this season isn\u2019t about knowing or being strong? What if it\u2019s about learning to let God be strong for you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sometimes we just need permission to not have all the answers.<\/p>\n
Practical Ways to Rest in God\u2019s Strength<\/h2>\n
So how do we actually do this? How do we move from white-knuckling life to genuinely resting in God\u2019s strength? Here are some practices that have been helping me:<\/p>\n
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Start your day with surrender.<\/strong>\u00a0Each morning, I\u2019ve been practicing a simple prayer: \u201cLord, I don\u2019t know what today holds, but I know You do. I surrender my need to control outcomes. Your strength is enough for whatever comes.\u201d<\/li>\n
Notice the \u201cshoulds.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0When I catch myself thinking \u201cI should have this figured out by now\u201d or \u201cI should be handling this better,\u201d I\u2019m learning to stop and ask, \u201cSays who?\u201d Most of the time the expectations I am feeling are entirely self-imposed.<\/li>\n
Embrace the uncertainty as sacred space.<\/strong>\u00a0What if this undefined season isn\u2019t something to rush through but a holy invitation to deeper dependence? What if God is most present in precisely these uncertain moments?<\/li>\n
Find community with others.<\/strong>\u00a0Nothing helps more than sharing honestly with others who understand. Whether it\u2019s a small group at church or a few trusted friends, we need people who understand our struggles and also remind us of God\u2019s faithfulness.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/figure>\n
God\u2019s Track Record of Faithfulness<\/h2>\n
When Moses was facing his own daunting transition of leading the Israelites into the unknown, God didn\u2019t give him a detailed five-year plan. Instead, He offered something better: His presence. \u201cMy Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.\u201d (Exodus 33:14)<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the promise we can hold onto as well. The God who has been faithful through every season of your life hasn\u2019t suddenly forgotten you now. His track record of faithfulness doesn\u2019t end with retirement, an empty nest, or any other life transition.<\/p>\n
The other day, I was flipping through my old journal from twenty years ago, when my children were small and life felt overwhelming in entirely different ways. I had written: \u201cI don\u2019t how to be a good mom. It feels impossible.What if I mess up my kids?\u201d And then in the margin, apparently added years later, I\u2019d written: \u201cHe carried you. He was with you. Remember this.\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u2019m keeping that journal on my nightstand these days as a reminder. The same God who carried me through those years, career-building, and constant demands is still carrying me now as I figure out what it means to look ahead toward when so much feels like an unknown! <\/p>\n
Your Turn<\/h2>\n
My friend, I don\u2019t know exactly what transition you\u2019re facing today. But I do know this: your weakness is not a failure. It\u2019s an invitation to experience God\u2019s strength in a fresh way.<\/p>\n
So let me ask you: What would change if you stopped trying to be strong enough and started letting God\u2019s strength flow through your weakness? What surrender might He be inviting you into today?<\/p>\n
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