Tag Archives: difficult seasons

February 20, 2024 · 5:35 AM

Walking Through Fire

How do you react when you’re going through a difficult season? We all go through periods where we’re under attack and it feels like God has abandoned us. I’ve asked God where He was and if He really cared before. I felt isolated and began to withdraw. I started to think I was going through a period like Job. The difference was that when Job lost everything and he didn’t understand, he worshiped and his prayer life increased. When he was ,et with silence, he kept praying and trusting God. His faith was greater than the season he was in. His prayers may not have been that great, but he didn’t cut off communication with Heaven.

In Judges 6, Israel was living in the Promised Land. However, the generation that had seen God bring them through the wilderness and helped them conquer the land had passed away. They began to be overcome by enemies and God would raise up a judge to be a hero. In this occasion, the Midianites were harassing the people, taking their crops and starving them. Gideon was threshing some grain hidden away so that they wouldn’t steal it when God showed up. He called out to Gideon and said, “Mighty warrior, God is with you.” Gideon replied in verse 13, “If God is with us, why has all this happened?” God tells him to go and rescue Israel to which Gideon says he’s a nobody and not very strong. God then reminds him that He is with him and will give him victory. Gideon them sets Israel free.

In Isaiah 43:2 God says, “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you” (NLT). God didn’t say, “If you go through deep waters,” He said, “When”. Hard times are going to come for all of us. Seasons where we feel abandoned will happen, but God promises when it feel like we’re drowning or we’re being oppressed and going through the fire, He is with us. Because He is with you, He will give you victory. He will strengthen you. Neither Job nor Gideon felt strong enough for their situations, but God infused them with His grace and His strength and they were able to survive their season and be victorious in the end. If God did it for them, He’ll do it for you. He has not abandoned you. He’s calling a mighty warrior out of you and walking through the fire with you.

Photo by Adam Wilson on Unsplash

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March 15, 2022 · 5:48 AM

Learning From Seasons

I remember seeing Time Life commercials when I was growing up. One of them was for music from the 60’s. They would list all the songs that this package came with. Every so often they would pause on a hit and let it play. One of those belonged to The Byrds. The song was “Turn! Turn! Turn!” The first time I heard it, I recognized immediately where it came from. Ecclesiastes. I can still hear that song playing in my mind. I didn’t understand then why it was such a big hit, but after studying history, it’s clear it resonated with people because it let them know that the war wasn’t going to last forever. The season would come to an end, and a new season would begin.

Job is someone who went through a difficult season. He went from a season of plenty to a season of loss and pain instantly. He responded by worshiping. He didn’t allow the changing seasons to affect how He viewed God. He understood that God allowed seasons to change and didn’t need his permission to do it. When his season lasted a long time, there was a temptation to curse God rather than to bless Him. It’s the same temptation we all face in difficult seasons. When we can’t see the bigger picture of what God is doing, and when we forget there is a season for everything, including loss, it’s easy to give in to that temptation. However, we must remain faithful, trusting in God’s plan even when we can’t see how He can turn it around for our good.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminds us, “There is a season (a time appointed) for everything and a time for every delight and event or purpose under heaven” (AMP). Solomon had seen it all and understood it better than anyone when he wrote this. God has a purpose and a time for every season of your life. Just a quickly as you entered this season, you can enter another one. Whether your in a season of planting or reaping, bless God. If you’re in a season of tearing down or building up, worship. Seasons aren’t permanent, but your worship is. Faith is trusting God even when you don’t understand or like the season you’re in. Trust in His all sufficient grace that is our strength when we’re weak, and use the season you’re in to grow closer to Him.

Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash

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October 19, 2018 · 5:49 AM

Seasons Change

One of the things I’ve learned about life is that it’s full of seasons. There are seasons of plenty, dry seasons, seasons of doubt, seasons of pain, seasons of just enough, seasons of recovery, etc. There’s no rhyme or reason as to when they show up or how long they’ll last, but one thing is certain, they do pass. The worst seasons seem like they’ll never end and the good seasons seem to go by too fast. I believe that God will give us what we need for each season, and that each season is a time of preparation.

If God uses seasons to prepare us, then I believe that you can be fruitful no matter what the season is in your life. You can glean from each season of your life things that will grow you and produce fruit for the future. You may be looking at your life right now and see a desert wasteland, but Isaiah 43:19 says that God is about to do something new. He’ll make rivers in the desert so that you can produce fruit and grow. No matter how dark life gets or how abundant your blessings are, God has a design and a purpose to grow you through this season.

Here are some Bible verses on different seasons of life.

1. He will be standing firm like a flourishing tree planted by God’s design, deeply rooted by the brooks of bliss, bearing fruit in every season of his life. He is never dry, never fainting, ever blessed, ever prosperous.

Psalms 1:3 TPT

2. Be cheerful with joyous celebration in every season of life. Let joy overflow, for you are united with the Anointed One!

Philippians 4:4 TPT

3. And don’t allow yourselves to be weary or disheartened in planting good seeds, for the season of reaping the wonderful harvest you’ve planted is coming!

Galatians 6:9 TPT

4. But I keep calling out to you, Yahweh! I know you will bend down to listen to me, for now is the season of favor. Because of your faithful love for me, your answer to my prayer will be my sure salvation.

Psalms 69:13 TPT

5. You’ve so graciously provided for my essential needs during this season of difficulty.

Philippians 4:14 TPT

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

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March 21, 2017 · 5:29 AM

Tough Questions 


I’ve always heard that each one of us are either going through a difficult time, coming out of a difficult time, or are headed for one. Those seasons are a part of life, but that’s exactly what they are – seasons. They don’t last forever. I know that when I’m going through them, it sure feels like it’s never going to end. I start off questioning God as to why I’m going through it, but after a while, when it doesn’t let up, I start questioning God and His intentions. Has He forgotten me? Does He even care? Does He hear me?

David struggled with the same thoughts. I think that’s why we connect with the Psalms so we’ll. David was real. He didn’t hold back what he was thinking. He laid it all out there for God and us to read. How could he be so vulnerable? How could he be so open about what he was thinking and feeling? I don’t know, but I’m glad he did. It let’s me know that I’m not alone in my thoughts and feelings in difficult times. His vulnerability has allowed so many of us to be the same way in front of God.

One of the people who learned to be that way was Asaph. He was one of the top musicians in David’s time. He wrote several of the Psalms. In Psalm 77, he questioned, “Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will He never again be kind to me? Is His unfailing love gone forever? Have His promises permanently failed?” (NLT). Tough questions that I’m sure we all think on difficult times. While he struggled with these questions, he found a solution to them.

In verse 11, he writes, “But then I recall all you have done, O LORD; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.” he then recalls all that the Lord has done for him and Israel. He remembers that there are seasons and this won’t last forever, but most importantly, He remembers the character of God. He does not forget us. He doesn’t leave us in difficult seasons forever. He is mighty to save, and He will come to your rescue. He’s done it before and He’ll do it again because He’s the same yesterday, today and forever.

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