surviving hard times | Devotions by Chris Hendrix

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April 29, 2026 · 5:44 AM

Bitter Seasons

In Ruth 1, when Naomi returned from the land of Moab, she was in a season of loss and grief. She said, “Do not call me Naomi (sweetness); call me Mara (bitter), for the Almighty has caused me great grief and bitterness” (AMP). Her story reminds me of a few things. First, tough seasons reveal what we believe about God. Our pain often distorts our perspective of God. We question His goodness, blame Him for everything that’s gone wrong and decide we’ll never ask Him for anything again. God is not afraid of these raw moments or what they expose in our life. In moments like these, I try to put things back in perspective and look at God’s character throughout eternity instead of the lens of the moment.

Secondly, these seasons cause us to isolate. In this story, Naomi tried to send Ruth and her other daughter in law away. Bitterness tries to convince us that being alone is safer than being with people who love us. However, God often brings Ruth’s along side us during these seasons. They are people who refuse to leave, aren’t intimidated by our grief and won’t let us walk alone. They may not understand the pain you’re going through, but God has graced them with the work of restoration. I believe they are a sign to us of God’s mercy in hard times. Instead of continuously pushing them away, embrace what God is trying to do through them.

Finally, bitterness often blinds us to what God is doing behind the scenes. Naomi couldn’t see the harvest in Bethlehem that was waiting to be gleaned, the kinsman redeemer in the field looking for Ruth or the lineage to the Messiah she would now be a part of. Bitter season often reveal how limited our vision is and how active God’s hand is. I’m reminded of Psalm 126:5 that says, “They who sow in tears shall reap with joyful singing.” Every sorrow we surrender to Him becomes seed in what was once barren ground. Every tear becomes prayer that waters those seeds. God does not waste bitter seasons. Instead He turns them into fertile soil for future harvests. God is already doing the work of restoration even though you can’t see His hand now. The time of joy is on the way.

Photo by Atiar Ahmed on Unsplash

Surviving The Dark Valley

In one of the darkest times of my life, I felt like everything was crumbling around me. I couldn’t sleep or eat for days. I laid in bed at night and would repeat Nehemiah 8:10. “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” Over and over I would say it. Then I started singing it through the tears. It became my mantra. Because of that, even though my world was crumbling around me, I found a place deep within that gave me hope that I would make it through it. Some days I couldn’t see past a minute in front of me, but i knew if God would help me survive that minute, then I could survive the next. God would remind me of Scriptures to hold on to or He would have someone give me one out of the blue. Life was hard, but God provided a way through it and gave me strength to endure.

Psalm 84:5-6 says, “How enriched are they who find their strength in the Lord…Even when their paths wind through the dark valley of tears, they dig deep to find a pleasant pool where others find only pain. He gives to them a brook of blessing filled from the rain of an outpouring” (TPT ). This promise is to those who find their strength in the Lord first of all. Every one of us goes through the dark valley of tears. What I love is that God says, “Pick up your shovel during that time and start digging. Beneath all that pain is a pool where you can find strength and refreshment.” We’ve got to dig deeper than the way things appear on the surface. We’ve got to dig deep into God’s Word. We’ve got to dig deep into His promises, and put our roots there. If they’re on the surface, we’ll be blown over like a tree in a hurricane. Our roots cannot remain at surface level in the dark valley of tears.

You can either be defeated in that valley or you can find the brook of God’s blessing. God is pouring out blessings all the time, but we don’t see them because we get too focused on the things going on around us. Lamentations 3:21-25 says, “Yet hope returns when I remember this one thing: The Lord’s unfailing love and mercy still continue, Fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise. The Lord is all I have, and so in him I put my hope. The Lord is good to everyone who trusts in him” (GNT). You can have hope in the dark valley of tears when you focus on God’s unfailing love to get you through it and His mercy to remind you that this is a season and there are mountain tops still ahead. Trust and hope in the Lord and draw your strength from Him.

Photo by Julian Villella on Unsplash

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