Trusting God Through Change When Life Takes an Unexpected Turn 

 “For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

Acts 13:47

Dear Friends,

The Lord has ways of changing our direction and moving us forward. Sometimes we don’t know where to go or which direction to take. Other times, we are comfortable where we are and don’t want to move. But God sees what we cannot, and sometimes He uses unexpected circumstances to redirect our steps.

Trusting God through change isn’t always easy, especially when His direction takes us somewhere we never expected to go.

When God Changes Our Direction

Bart and I grew up in two very different environments. I spent my childhood and adolescence in the suburbs of New York City. My childhood home was sandwiched between similar houses on one of the packed streets of Kearny, New Jersey. Grass was at a premium, so all the neighborhood kids came to play in our driveway because it was the biggest one on the block. I had a good childhood, but it was all I knew.

Bart, on the other hand, spent most of his youth on a small farm in southwestern Ohio. His free time was filled with caring for a wide variety of farm animals and helping with his family’s auction business. Summer Saturdays were often spent mowing the family’s large expanse of grass together so they could get the work done more quickly. He loved his life, but it was all he knew too.

After we married in December 1989, we spent the first four years of our marriage in my home state. This was a big change for Bart, and we regularly discussed the possibility of moving back to Ohio.

I have to admit, those conversations about relocating always filled me with emotion. The thought of leaving everything and everyone I knew and loved was scary.

But as we continued to pray and talk about the possibility of moving, things began to change. Circumstances we could never have planned began to shift my heart and mind. Eventually, I felt peace about the direction God was leading us.

In December 1993, we packed our belongings and headed to Ohio for a new life, new adventures, and a fulfilling ministry.

When God Redirected Paul and Barnabas

God was directing Bart and me, and in Acts 13, we see Him directing Paul and Barnabas as well.

Acts 1:8 tells us that Jesus said His disciples would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Paul and Barnabas would become pioneers in carrying the gospel farther and reaching people who had not yet heard the good news.

The two men had already been commissioned by their church in Antioch and had begun a journey that would carry the gospel message farther from Jerusalem. When they arrived in Pisidian Antioch, they first preached in the synagogue.

Those who heard their message were intrigued and wanted to hear more, so Paul and Barnabas returned the following week to continue teaching.

This time, almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But the excitement of the previous week was soon overshadowed by opposition. Filled with jealousy, some of the Jewish leaders began contradicting Paul’s message and heaping abuse on him.

Opposition That Opened a New Door

God used this change in reception to redirect His gospel messengers.

Paul and Barnabas boldly announced that although it was necessary for them to speak the word of God to the Jews first, because they rejected it, the missionaries would now turn to the Gentiles.

This change in direction fulfilled Scripture and was exactly what God had commanded them to do:

“I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6(opens in new tab)).

When the Gentiles in Pisidian Antioch heard this news, they rejoiced and honored the word of the Lord, and many believed.

The gospel spread like wildfire throughout the region. 

But once again, difficult circumstances brought another change.

God Used Persecution to Move the Gospel Forward

The Jewish leaders stirred up opposition, inciting God-fearing women of high standing and leading men of the city against Paul and Barnabas.

But the persecution that could have seemed like a setback actually pushed Paul and Barnabas—and the gospel—even farther.

Rather than allowing the opposition to stop them, the two men shook the dust from their feet and moved on to Iconium, filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Another town was waiting.

More people needed to hear the good news.

What looked like opposition to Paul and Barnabas became part of the means God used to move His message forward.

Trusting God Through Change

Trusting God through change is often hard. It can be especially difficult when it comes through circumstances we didn’t expect or would never have chosen. But nothing surprises God.

Trusting God through change was something I had to learn when faced with moving far away from my hometown and family. Yet over time, I began to see that the circumstances prompting that change were also directing my steps. God had work for Bart and me to do, and I needed to trust Him enough to follow.

Paul and Barnabas couldn’t control how the people of Pisidian Antioch responded to their message. But they could trust God and keep moving in the direction He led them.

We can do the same.

Maybe you are facing an unexpected change right now. Perhaps a door has closed, circumstances have shifted, or the path ahead looks nothing like the one you had planned.

You may not understand what God is doing yet. But you can trust the One who does.

Trusting God through change means believing that He is still at work even when the direction of our lives changes unexpectedly. The circumstances that seem to interrupt our plans may be the very circumstances God uses to redirect our steps and accomplish His purposes.

So when the path changes, keep looking to Him. Keep praying. Keep obeying what you already know He has asked you to do. And trust Him with where the road leads next.

Love,

Mama

Has God ever used an unexpected change to redirect your life? Share your story in the comments. Your experience may encourage someone else who is learning to trust Him through a change of their own.

This reflection is part of my Walking Through the Book of Acts devotional series, where we explore the early church, the work of the Holy Spirit, and what it means to follow God with courage and faith.