How Can I Trust God In This Hard Season?
Revival, Survival, and Everything In-between: Part III
In our last post, we ended with a tough question:
“But is this actually possible? Can my heart sustain God-sized expectations all the time? How does hope not just lead to fantasy?”
These are core question for the Christian journey. The way we answer these shapes not only who we become, but can influence the personal relationship we have with God and others forever. Questions like these arise:
How much of God’s presence and involvement can I “expect” or “hope” to have throughout my life?
Is God gone for certain seasons?
Does He withdraw because of what I’ve done or who I am?
Why hasn’t He come through yet?
Why don’t I see His involvement in my life like I read in the Bible?
It’s hard to hope. Isn’t it better to just relent? Then, if God does show up, great.
A great picture of these God-invasion moments in Jesus’s life, is at the Mount of Transfiguration. Jesus has done some extraordinary things, and yet, lives a very human life, tired, hungry, friendly, sometimes tearful, sometimes even angry. Then he takes the disciples to the Mount:
“[Jesus] took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As He was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning...they saw his glory.”
Jesus revealed something different and unique about Himself in that moment to the disciples that couldn’t have been revealed any other way.
Have you had moments like this when God revealed Himself powerfully?
What moments has God showed up in a way you didn’t expect?
How has this affected your personal journey?
For Jesus this was a glorious moment, the disciples were speechless. Yes, Jesus would still have to be betrayed, deserted, murdered. But do you think Peter, James and John ever forgot that moment? Do you think, upon Resurrection Day and Pentecost, they remembered that moment of glory as a confirmation and encouragement in the Book of Acts when they faced persecution and death?
“What are your moments of transfiguration?”
Truth is, that at the Mount of Transfiguration, the disciples saw a higher truth about who Jesus is. They saw reality, with Jesus reigning on the throne, which is true now and will be forevermore. So, don’t let go of those moments too quickly—they don’t just sustain us—if rightly received, they shape our understanding of reality.
Our lives never remain in constant transfiguration, but in seasons of dryness, confusion, or disorientation, it is crucial to meditate on past moments of transfiguration—moments where God’s presence came in a very personal or powerful way to us. In darker seasons, often God’s Spirit is drawing us deeper. Literally mining for treasure in the caverns of our soul. And if we’re attentive, together we can find treasures in the midst of the dark, cold cave.
How have you experienced God in times of loneliness, dryness, or distance?
How would it affect that season to revisit those past moments of connection between you and Him?
Can you get a sense of what He was doing then in a word, an image, or a scripture?
How is that pertinent to what is going now in your life?
But why, if God has such glorious moments and invasions, would He choose to use this hard season? Can’t I just get on with life?! (See Part IV)
And don’t forget to contact us if you have questions about your journey with the Lord.
