Should You Stay or Leave?
They say that timing is everything. But how do you know when it’s the right time to do something? More specifically, how do you know when you should stay with something you’ve been doing or step away from it? We all ask questions like these:
Should I stay in this job or start looking for something else?
Should I stick it out longer in this city or would a change do me good?
Is this relationship going anywhere or should I walk away now?
Jesus once told a parable that had a deeper spiritual meaning, but I believe he gives us some insights that will help us decide what to keep and what to let go.
Luke 13:6-9 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ “ ‘Sir, the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”
What are the areas in your life that aren’t currently bearing fruit?
Take inventory and evaluate whether the following areas are bearing fruit in your life:
Spiritual Life - Are you growing closer to God? Are you becoming more like Jesus?
Relational Life - Are your close relationships fruitful in this season?
Physical Health - Are you seeing the kind of physical outcomes you want?
Vocational Fit - Are you producing good work in your current vocation(s)?
Any other areas specific to your life that you should evaluate for their fruitfulness?
What might it look like to dig around and fertilize these areas?
While we might not be able to focus on improving every area of our lives simultaneously, which 1 or 2 areas need more focus in your life? I am mostly a self-disciplined person, but one area of my life has lacked discipline in a major way over the past year. I have had little to no self-control when it comes to my eating habits. As I’m writing this, I’m in the middle of seeking new ways to dig around this issue in my life and to fertilize the good change I want to see.
Have you been in a season that needs to come to an end?
Most things in our lives will not last forever, which means we need to accept the way seasons come and go. If you’ve been trying all you can to bring about fruit in some area of your life without any success, it might be time for a change. Walking away from something familiar can be scary, but staying too long means we risk missing out on the new thing God wants to do in our lives.
I’ve recently had the privilege of coaching individuals who’ve been trying to discern whether they need to make a transition. If you’d be interested in this kind of personalized coaching, you can let me know by going here: https://www.benpilgreen.com/coaching
