Have you ever entered a season in life where things started off great, and then out of nowhere you were hit with disappointment, roadblocks, frustration, hurt, and struggle? I know both my hands are up! Maybe 2022 isn’t what you hoped for and believed to be so far. Maybe you feel like you’re in an opposite season to what you felt the Lord tell you that you’d be in.

So the big question is: How do you stay grounded, full of hope, and faithful when you feel like you’re being pulled in the opposite direction? 

Let me start with this encouraging scripture

“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.” – Isaiah 43:2 

The first step is to take a look at your current beliefs. You may not be able to change your situation, but what you CAN change is what you believe about it. 

Do you believe God is with you? Do you believe that He will NOT let you drown, that He will not let the fire consume you? What we believe about a difficult season is critical. It’s the lens which we see everything around us from. If we don’t believe God is with us, then all we will see are the giants that are around us and we will feel small and powerless. But if we choose to believe, by faith, that God is certainly with us, then what we see begins to change!

Back in 2019 me and my husband had decided it was time to start trying for a baby. We had been married for 5 years at that point and I was READY. It took us about 6 months to get pregnant, I was elated. All I could think about was the promise God had given me since I was a little girl. I couldn’t wait to start a family. Unfortunately about 8 weeks later, we had lost the baby. I cannot describe to you the pain, the heartache, the confusion I experienced in that season. I remember coming face to face with a decision: I either believe God is who He says He is (Good, steadfast, faithful, a promise keeper), or I lower my theology to match my pain and believe otherwise.

I had already seen God do many miraculous things throughout my life. I’ve seen people get out of wheelchairs, I know people who have been healed of cancer miraculously, I have seen God restore marriages. I’ve seen too much to believe anything less than that He was still good and that He was going to be with me in this hard season. I had to align my belief about the season I was about to go through with Jesus Christ. The great news is, His presence was there. Did the pain go away? Not at all. But the Comforter was present, and I leaned into His embrace through the healing journey. 

I don’t know where you are in life as you’re reading this. Maybe things are going great, and that is awesome! But I also know there are a lot of you that need hope. You need to find hope in this season because you’re feeling weary, exhausted and losing hope. 

I want to encourage you to know that God is truly faithful! I like practicals so below I wanted to give you some practical tools on how to stay faithful in difficult times. 

1. Remember who God is and how He has come through for you in the past. 

Hebrews 13:8 says “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”  Look back over your life and remind yourself of every time you have seen the goodness and faithfulness of God. Maybe write it down in a journal, or even share it with a friend so they can rejoice with you over what He has done in your life. He is still the same God, so trust that what He did for you then, He is fully capable of doing again! 

2. Tell God how you feel and lay your heart out before Him, and then follow with praying into your season.

Ask Him what He thinks, get His perspective on you and your season and the purpose that lies within it. It will ALWAYS  be good, and if it is not good, it is not God. God’s presence is the best place to process your emotions and as you pour out your heart to Him, He will pour out His peace that supasses all understanding into your heart! (Phillippians 4). 

3. Lastly, let people in on what you are going through. 

The enemy will tell you that people do not care or that they will judge you if you tell them what you are going through, but that is a lie to keep you bound! Galatians 6 says that we are “fulfilling the law of Christ” when we “carry each other’s burdens.” Let people fight for you in prayer and bear your burdens with you- there is so much power in community!  

4. Find a scripture in the Word of God to cling to in the season you’re in. 

Finding and asking the Lord for s scripture to be an anchor in your life is key. I remember after going through the loss that we experienced, I searched the scriptures for anything. I KNEW that His word was alive and active, and had the power to get me through the hardship. I found Psalm 4:8 in the Passion Transaltion “Now, because of you, Lord, I will lie down in peace and sleep comes at once, for no matter what happens, I will live unafraid!” It was a verse I read everyday. It gave me hope and strength! 

Pray this prayer this me: 

God I thank your goodness in my life. I know that the plans you have for me are good and not to harm me. Lord, I pray you strengthen my spirit and for fresh eyes to see where you are in the midst of it all. I pray for fresh hope to fill my spirit and for peace. God, I align my beliefs with yours and I choose to partner with the hope that you have over my situation! I know that you are with me and that you will never forsake me. I trust you. I trust that you love me, and are with me. 

In Jesus name, Amen.