Something New
I’ve worked at a large public accounting firm since college and recently celebrated twenty-two years there. I have held multiple positions over the years, and I changed positions again in June. My new role is significantly different from my previous one, so it came with a lot of humility and learning.
Starting something new often requires pruning, a tearing down of what is there. I knew my previous role well, and I could function in it easily. I had built a network over the seven years I spent in the job and had strong relationships. My new role means I interact with completely new-to-me people in a different part of the business, and I’m having to take on a new way of looking at finances.
The Cost of Something New
Most new things come with a cost. Think of a new baby. While there are certainly wonderful things about pregnancy and newborns, there are many hard things as well. It’s hard on a woman’s body to carry a baby for nine months. Many women experience nausea and vomiting in the beginning, sometimes severely. Some experience significant fatigue or back pain.
All of that is before the baby is even born. The process of labor comes with a significant cost as well. While we have medical advances that can reduce the pain in many cases, all birth mothers experience at least some labor pain. For medical reasons, I had to deliver all three of my children without medication. I can attest to the severity of the pain!
Once the baby arrives, there are more challenges. Our sleep is interrupted, nursing can be painful and challenging, and sometimes babes can cry for hours. When you add the impact of hormones to the whole process, it’s a wonder we keep humanity going!
Babies are but one example. When God wants to do something new in us, there is most likely a cost. It may be some sort of a risk we need to take. We may need to say no to something else. John records Jesus’s words on this concept in chapter 15 of his gospel: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be more fruitful” (vv. 1-2 NIV).
While my work is certainly a benign example compared to other occasions for pruning, I have noticed these feelings as I learn my new role at work. I have said to a couple of friends that I wish I could skip ahead to the time when I will understand the role enough to add more value. Learning something new is hard and requires humility and patience.
The Benefits of Something New
In addition to the often-painful pruning, following God into something new frequently comes with risks. It feels unsafe. We have to build new relationships or choose to trust people we don’t know. We might fail. Maybe we discover we didn’t hear God clearly at all, and the whole thing is a mistake. Our minds can lead us in lots of unhealthy directions.
If you have earnestly sought God on a decision, including prayer, seeking his words in Scripture, and seeking wise counsel from others who love him, you can feel confident in your choice. This is not to imply it will be easy, though. It most likely won’t. You can depend on God to walk alongside you, however, and for his purposes to be completed in you through your obedience.
My husband and I started a small church plant out of our home in 2015. It was equal parts scary and exciting as we got it started. There were many moments when we saw God moving clearly. There were also many moments when we didn’t know where he was or what he was doing.
We ultimately closed the church in December 2020 based on God’s leading. Some may view this as a failure, but we know Fringe Church was in God’s hands the whole time. It was never ours. If it was meant for a season, then we would be obedient for that season. God moved in the lives of our little church, and I know there are people who are growing in Christ as a result.
I don’t know what your something new is. It may be far riskier and scarier than the examples I’ve given you here. Or it may be a simple step of obedience that might feel particularly scary to you due to past experiences. Regardless, I hope you’ll consider that, while there will be a cost, stepping into God’s will is always better than running from it.
He loves us more than we can comprehend, and he is working everything for his good purposes. We can trust him. We can lean on him when it’s scary. Success may not look like what we expect, but saying yes to God’s will is always the best choice. As we watch the leaves fall this month, may we be reminded that sometimes things must die—including our own desires—in order for something new to grow.
is a Jesus follower, wife, mom of three, finance director, and lover of sarcasm and deep conversations with friends. She also loves camping, rafting, skiing, sewing, and hosting others in her home.
Photograph © Annie Spratt, used with permission
