Seasons of Transition x Sarah Jakes Roberts & Priscilla Shirer

This Month’s Theme: Surrendering to Faith During Seasons of Transition

Our focus this month is all about surrender—specifically, surrendering to belief during life’s seasons of transition. These moments, I believe, are when our faith is tested the most. Personally, even returning to Dallas recently required me to hold on to faith in the midst of change.

You have been a constant, unwavering figure for women in ministry—an icon, a legend—not just for me, but for countless women who are striving to grow in their relationship with God. Women who are learning how to walk in their purpose, respond to their calling, and understand their divine inheritance as daughters of the King.

I’m filled with gratitude for who you are. From the moment I began speaking publicly, you made yourself available—as a mentor, a guide, and a safe place to process both the big and small decisions. I’ve leaned on that wisdom many times.

Now, as we live in a world that is becoming more transparent—open about both trauma and triumph—I want to ask: how have you maintained your faith in the midst of transition?

Immediately, when you mentioned the word “transition,” my mother came to mind. She used to say that every season of a woman’s life holds its own unique beauty. One of the greatest mistakes we can make is clinging too tightly to a single season—its look, its feel, its expectations. In doing so, we box ourselves in. And when the winds of change come, as they inevitably do, we resist.

Change can be uncomfortable. It can feel uncertain, even painful. But when we fight it, my mother would remind me, we don’t limit God—He remains sovereign. Instead, we limit ourselves. We miss the opportunity to live fully in the beauty of what God is doing next. Even if hardship is part of the journey, that struggle is what shapes us. It builds the character we’ll need for what’s ahead.

There is beauty in letting go—loosening our grip on where we are and allowing the winds of change to carry us into the next season. That’s where we discover everything God has prepared for us.

If I may, I want to share something personal. I was living in Los Angeles when your mother passed. Having grown up in Dallas and deeply respecting your family—not just for who you are in the city, but globally—I watched that transition with great admiration. We may not know each other’s families closely, but I felt such profound love and honor as you all walked through that season.

My own mother is the foundation of our family, though she stays behind the scenes. Watching how you honored your mother—how your entire family came together—deeply moved me. I watched the entire memorial service online. I saw church members praying outside your home. It wasn’t even what this podcast was supposed to be about, but I have to acknowledge the grace, strength, and compassion you all demonstrated.

Whenever you mention your mother’s name, I feel it again—that deep sense of honor and gratitude that she was celebrated and loved fully, even in her passing.

Thank you for sharing that. And truly, being in Dallas, where both our fathers have led and pastored for decades, we feel spiritually connected to your family. It’s like God has planted us in the same soil to serve the same people.

When you speak of transition, even my mother’s passing comes to mind. People came to our childhood home at noon every day, walking around the house and praying for her healing. Your father prayed for her during one of your services at The Potter’s House. Someone sent us the recording. Brooklyn Tabernacle did the same. Churches around the world prayed with their congregations and sent us videos so we would know we weren’t alone.

And yet, God didn’t answer our prayer in the way we had hoped.

So, when you say there was a grace over us to honor Him through it all, I receive that deeply. But I also want to be honest—it was hard. And yet, even in that hardship, there was purpose, and there was presence.