How to Trust God in Uncertain Seasons
By Christine Perry, Crosswalk.org
“My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” – Psalm 73:26, NKJV
Have you ever wondered if God has forgotten you? Have you been crying out to him, and all you hear is silence? Have you been desperate to know where He was leading and what He was doing?
Life can be hard. Life comes with seasons of uncertainty. Perhaps you are facing a season of unemployment, infertility, a health diagnosis, a broken relationship, the lack of a relationship, or the loss of someone you love. It can be a dark and scary place not to have answers on where your next meal will come from, what the doctor’s report might say, if there will be a marriage or a family for you, or how you will move forward without your loved one.
In seasons of uncertainty, it can be hard to know what the Lord is doing or why He has allowed you to face what you’re going through. You may be asking yourself, doesn’t God see the tears I’ve cried? Hasn’t He heard the prayers I’ve prayed? The answer is yes. God is always working, and He is always in control. However, God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9 NKJV).
If we understand God’s ways, He wouldn’t be God. But how can we find the courage to keep pressing ahead today? How can you endure this season when you feel your prayers are falling on deaf ears and the place you feel God has led you to resembles a desert?
The answer is this: Renew your mind with God’s promises and never, never give up!
The Christian walk is like a marathon. There will be seasons in your walk, just like when you run a marathon, where you will feel like you’ve hit a wall. When I ran my first marathon halfway through, I hit a wall that I thought would have taken me out of the race. I had discomfort in my hip that wouldn’t cease. Suddenly, I began to doubt I would finish. I had to fight through the mental wall by telling my feet to take one step at a time. Eventually, I got to mile 17, where I had a friend who I could see cheering for me. Her presence and words of encouragement bolstered my resolve to keep running.
In your walk with the Lord, you will hit spiritual walls. When you do, you have to hold tight to the promises of God — one promise and verse at a time — and if you have a Christian friend, ask them to pray for you. The enemy of our soul wants us to doubt that God even cares. He wants to make us feel completely alone and discouraged. He does everything in his power to tempt us to throw in the towel because he knows he has already lost and wants us to lose too. Regardless of our situation, God is still on the throne. He has the final say. His plans will not and cannot be thwarted (Job 42:1-2, NKJV). And even if we are faithless, He still remains faithful! (2 Timothy 2:13, NKJV). No situation we face in this life will ever be too hard for God.
God’s Plan for the Resurrection
Crosswalk.org, source
“A little while, and you will no longer see Me.” Jesus repeated these words to His disciples several times. But He could tell by the blank stares on their faces that they did not understand what He had said.
At one point, He even overheard them debating what He meant by “You will not see me” (John 16:19). These men had been with the Lord for three years. They had laughed with Him, cried with Him, eaten with Him, and were willing to die with Him, or so they thought.
They had just entered the city of Jerusalem. And instead of being met by an angry legion of guards and protestors, they were met by palm-waving supporters shouting: “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Yet as soon as they had settled into the upper room, Jesus broached the subject of His forthcoming death. Immediately, the mood of His followers went from one of celebration to shock and sorrow.
Often in difficult times, we cannot see beyond that moment. The resurrection was a few days away, but they could not fathom its wondrous coming.
God always provides the encouragement we need to stay the course, and Jesus did this for His disciples when He told them, “Your sorrow will be turned to joy” (v. 20). This also is God’s message of hope and love for us today. Blessed be the name of the Lord!
Today’s Devotions
March 1
Numbers 6:24-26 24“‘ “The LORD bless you and keep you; 25the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”‘
What an awesome blessing prescribed by the Lord Himself. This is His desire for His people. He wants to bless us! To the Hebrew, this blessing meant having every good thing in every way both physical and spiritual. It meant one would be happy knowing he had all he needed. (Phil 4:19)
“Keep you” means to protect physically and spiritually. What good is being blessed if we are not kept in that way? “Make His face shine upon you” is to be pleased with you, to show you kindness. His eye is upon your circumstances. His ear is open to your prayer. His mouth is speaking to your situation. “Be gracious to you”, we have learned from Christ how greatly we need the grace of God. How willing He is to show us that grace! It is grace that makes the rest of the blessing possible. “Turn his face toward you”, to see your need, hear your prayer, be mindful of you. Is your face toward Him? “And give you peace”, (shalom) to be in harmony with the will of God. It is to be in step with your created purpose, to have peace with God through the blood of Jesus. The opposite of peace is to be in turmoil and war within and without. God’s desire for us is peace, and so He sent us the Prince of Peace.
This is the blessing the priests were to pronounce over the people of God. It is as good for us today as it was for them 3500 years ago. Man has changed his world, but his heart has the same needs. Let the LORD, Himself, speak this blessing upon you and your family.
Action: As priest of your household, pronounce this blessing over your family.