Strategy Must Change with Seasons
Building a flywheel of success for life and career
The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan. — Joshua 5:12
Moses led the Israelites out of bondage. Joshua led them into inheritance. The transition from Moses to Joshua was not just a change in leadership; it was a change in season. Under Moses, they received manna daily—no striving, just stepping out and gathering. But under Joshua, the manna stopped. Now they had to sow, till, and harvest. Same God. New method.
In my own life, I experienced a long season of manna. My mentor opened door after door—first, a six-year role in a client project in Belgium; then a consulting position in a prestigious e-governance project in India; later, the opportunity to launch a startup; and finally, a consulting role as Chief Technology Officer. Every five to six years, it felt like God was dropping provision straight from the heavens through my mentor’s hands.
But for the past ten years, there’s been no dramatic shift. Same role. Same city. No new doors. At first, I wondered if something was wrong. Then I read this passage. The manna had stopped. And yet, God was still providing—just in a different way.
Now I find myself tilling the land: preaching in two churches, raising funds for a church building, helping ministries launch podcasts and YouTube channels. In the job too, I’m on sales calls, shaping company strategy, mentoring teams, working on branding. It’s not the same kind of provision. It’s slower, messier, but more rooted. And the grace? Still sufficient.
As founders and leaders, we often pray for provision and breakthrough. Sometimes it comes like manna—mentors and surprise wins. Other times, it comes like land—hard-won and slowly cultivated. What worked in the last season may no longer serve in the new one. And that can be disorienting. But know that God of one season is God of the other season too.
God doesn’t change, but how He provides might. Be attentive to the season you are in.
Action Items:
- Are you in a manna season or a land-cultivating season? What is God teaching you through it?
- Journal the ways God’s grace has shown up differently across these seasons.
- Audit one area in your business or life where you’re using an old strategy for a new season. Adjust it this week.