What To Do When Faith Feels Tough – Embrace the Season

The last seven months have been some of the toughest I’ve faced; isolated from my friends, unsure of my purpose & questioning my identity. At times my faith has felt so stretched by circumstances that I’ve had moments where I’ve questioned if it’s even worth it anymore. God’s felt distant and pursuing him in this season has been incredibly challenging - but he continues to pull me through each and every time. Every moment I think it’s just got too much, he’s met me with his grace and I’ve regained hope.

This week I’d love to unpack some lessons I’ve learnt, either to encourage you if you’re in a season like this, or to strengthen your faith for the next time life throws a curveball your way. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 4 –

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.

The first thing is to embrace the season. Jesus never promised a perfect life. He promised a new perspective of hope to apply to the challenges of life. So being present in these circumstances and in our emotions is crucial. Rather than succumbing to the temptation of busying up our schedules and living on the surface to avoid issues, we need to engage with our feelings. Really feel them. We can’t invite God in (see tomorrow) unless we know what we’re inviting him into. 

There are times when challenges happen in quick succession. A few weeks ago I was feeling really tired, low & generally frustrated. It was sod’s law that my car decided to break down the following weekend (I thought it was a write off), and when I was travelling into work the next day my Uber driver didn’t click stop so I got charged £50 for my £8 trip into Gas Street. I felt like the world was against me!

But when I stepped back and rationally assessed the situation, as bad as the Uber cost or even my broken-down car were, it was not the reason I was upset. It was just the ‘camel’s-back-straw’ on top of a build-up of different emotions and situations from the past few weeks. I was in a season where things felt hard, and I had to sit in that, I had to feel the sadness, the toughness of the reality of life that I was experiencing. Recognising my emotions was half the battle towards overcoming them. 

Prayer – Father. please help me understand any turmoil of emotions I may experience this week and recognise what is unsettling me. I pray for your peace to come and fill me now.