Each season comes with its own rhythm its own pace and its own appointed time the trees don't rush to bloom nor do they resist the shedding of their leaves the rains know when to fall the sun knows when to retreat behind the clouds everything in nature follows a divine order a sacred timing and no matter how long or harsh the season feels it alwavs changes when the time is right your life too moves through seasons there are times when everything feels bright when joy is abundant and your heart feels like it's overflowing you wake up with purpose and the nearness of God is undeniable you see him in every little thing in the laughter of a child in the soft tug on your heart during worship you hear his voice in the silence and you feel his presence like the warmth of the sun but then without warning comes a colder season one where everything feels off you pray but the silence feels heavy you read scripture but it doesn't seem to speak the way it used to you go through the motions but your soul feels disconnected it's as if the heavens are locked shut and you're left whispering into the void "God where are you?" These seasons are hard they feel confusing discouraging and at times even crushing you may begin to wonder if you've done something wrong you may question your worth your faith or even God's nearness and if you're not careful shame can come in making you believe that struggling in your faith somehow disqualifies you from God's love but you are not alone in this you are not broken because you're in a dry season you're not less spiritual because you have questions you're not less loved because you feel lost every believer no matter how mature how faithful how devoted has walked through times like these faith doesn't make you immune to hardship it helps you stand in the middle of it and here's the beauty god doesn't withdraw in your silence he draws closer he doesn't abandon you when you feel weak in fact scripture tells us that he is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit he doesn't just light your path he becomes your light when you have no path at all that's who Emmanuel is god with us not just in the good days or the easy answers but in the tears in the delays in the doubts and even in the dead ends faith isn't a band-aid for pain it's not a phrase you throw around when you don't know what else to say. Faith is what holds you together when your world falls apart. It's the quiet strength in your chest when your heart is breaking. It's the anchor that steadies your soul when life feels like it's drifting into chaos. Faith is the whisper that says "God is still here. God is still good. God is still working." Hebrews 11:1 tells us, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen." And verse 6 reminds us that without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Faith is what gives your soul eyes to see when nothing around you is visible it's what gives your spirit the courage to keep walking when the road is foggy it's what helps you breathe when the air feels tight and heavy think about David just a young shepherd boy with no armor no army no experience yet when he heard Goliath mocking the name of God, he didn't shrink back. Why? Because he remembered he remembered how God gave him strength against the lion and the bear he remembered that God had been faithful before and he trusted God would be faithful again it wasn't the stone that brought Goliath down it was the faith behind the stone you see when you walk closely with God you're never really walking alone deep into the love of God deep into the faith that says even if everything else falls my God will never fail that's what true faith does it steadies you it humbles you it teaches you to wait it trains your heart to trust it helps you worship even when you don't feel like it it reminds you that God is not limited by what you can see friend I don't know what season you'mre in today but I do know this it won't last forever the same God who controls the seasons of nature is in control of the seasons of your life and just as spring always follows winter your season will shift when the time is right until then hold on. Keep trusting. Keep showing up even when it's hard. Keep praying even when it feels silent. Keep reading God's word even when it feels dry. Because faith is not about what you feel it's about who you believe in.
Now let us take a moment to pray together.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for walking with me through every season of my life. Thank you for never changing even when everything around me does through the ups and downs, the highs and lows, the calm and the chaos. You have remained steady you have remained good. l am so grateful that you do not leave me when I feel lost or weak you don't abandon me in the middle of my confusion even when I feel unsure of where you are you are still near you're the same God in my joy as you are in my sorrow you're the God who kneels beside me in the valley sometimes life feels heavy. l am so grateful that you do not leave me when I feel lost or weak you don't abandon me in the middle of my confusion even when I feel unsure of where you are you are still near you're the same God in my joy as you are in my sorrow you're the God who kneels beside me in the valley sometimes life feels heavy the weight of it all presses on my chest like a burden I can't quite name there are moments when the silence is almost deafening when I pray and wait but all I hear is stillness and in those moments it's tempting to think you've forgotten me but even then Lord I will choose to believe even when l don't understand the weight of it all presses on my chest like a burden I can't quite name there are moments when the silence is almost deafening when I pray and wait but all I hear is stillness and in those moments it's tempting to think you've forgotten me but even then Lord I will choose to believe even when l don't understand what you're doing I will choose to trust that you're still working because you always are you are my hiding place my shelter when the winds blow too strong you're the rock I run to when everything else feels unsteady thank you for being that refuge for me again and again even when l'm too tired to find the words you hear the cries of my heart you understand my size you've carried me through deep waters places I never thought l'd survive you've stood with me in the fire moments of pain I thought would consume me and even when l couldn't see it clearly at the time l look back now and see your hand over everything you've healed wounds I didn't