Having faith in difficult times seems nearly impossible. But in these uncontrollable moments, we have two choices: either become consumed by the fear or build our faith and deepen our relationship with Jesus.
The fear we feel as we navigate difficult times is potent; the what-if scenarios that plague our minds are loud; the thought of the darkest what-if scenario becoming a reality is nauseating; and if your anxiety is anything like mine, during these challenging moments, it becomes so easy for God’s Word and promises to get drowned out.
But, as I navigate through difficult times, I learn that these moments are essential to the growth of our faith in God and the refining of our character. These troubling moments humble us and bring forth our eternal need for God.
While reading this, I hope you realize you are not alone in feeling afraid to open your heart to faith during difficult times. I understand your questioning on how faith could prevail in moments when fear’s presence feels so much more powerful. But, as you read further, I hope you are encouraged to believe and trust God. For we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28, KJV
This post is all about building and having faith in difficult times.
5 Ways to Strengthen Having Faith in Difficult Times:
1. Read and Study God’s Word
Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is! Matthew 6:22-23, NLT
Our hearts are the soil of our soul; what we plant in the heart is the fruit we bring forth in our lives, the aura of our character, and how we reflect Jesus. The planting process happens through our eyes – by what we see and take in.
When we spend time reading, studying, and taking in the Word of God, we begin to sow the seeds of faith, hope, resilience, and perseverance in our hearts. These seeds illuminate the heart with anticipation for a better tomorrow, trusting that the Word of the Lord does not return to Him void (Isaiah 55:11)— accomplishing what He said He would do in our lives.
Therefore, at all times (especially during difficult times), I encourage you to seek God through reading and studying His Word. When we earnestly seek Him, we find Him. As we seek, we find ourselves reading verses, passages, and stories that resonate deeply with our current circumstances, offering us light amid the darkness. Jeremiah 29:13 says you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart (NIV).
Bible I use: https://amzn.to/4aPW2CU
2. Spiritual Prayer vs. Panicked Prayer
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24, NIV
When we navigate difficult times, it is often difficult for our minds to focus on anything other than the circumstances before us. And when we pray to God during our turmoil, our prayers are panicked: “Please, Lord, fix this. Please, Lord, I’m so afraid. Please, Lord, please.” Our flesh is so panicked that we do not let our spirit formulate communicative words in prayer.
And yes, although God is omniscient and can read our thoughts and groans, we must teach ourselves to speak to Him intentionally.
Intentionality compels us to formulate complete thoughts in prayer; it bypasses fear and opens the door to faith. It says, I am afraid, but I will sit here in prayer and have a conversation with You, believing You are hearing me.
When God sees us bypass our fear and intentionally seek Him by faith through prayer, He is pleased. He is gratified because our intentional communication opens our hearts to Him. Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (Hebrew 11:6, NIV).
3. Trusting God in All Circumstances
Keep Pressing Forward
We are always falling in love or quarreling, looking for jobs or fearing to lose them, getting ill and recovering, following public affairs. If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable. Favorable conditions never come. (The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis)
When we find ourselves in unforeseeable circumstances, our immediate reaction is to halt everything in our lives until said circumstance has passed. It is a comforting coping mechanism for the powerful fear that has brewed within us. But, for this exact reason, the Bible warns us in 1 Peter 5:8 to be alert and of sober mind because the enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
There has to come a point in our lives when we look past the fear of the circumstance before us and realize that our circumstances are strategic patterns that the enemy uses to keep us from pursuing God’s purpose for our lives. Because when we seek our purpose, attached to us comes the salvation of those around us.
So, if we constantly wait for the storms to calm before we can continue our trek, we will continuously find ourselves stumped because we are proving the enemy right, that we don’t truly have faith in God. And truthfully, faith, gut-wrenching Job-like faith, is what God seeks from us. Because when we prove we can trust Him amid our fears and keep pressing forward, He knows our hearts are His.
Time and time again, God brings us through; this difficult time before you is no different; have faith. Do not stop pursuing the desires of your heart, for God has placed them there for a reason, and the enemy knows this. Do not let your fear distort your perspective of God’s character, for we know God is compassionate, merciful, loving, and gracious. Summon the courage within you to keep moving forward despite the storm. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9, NIV).
4. Do Not Compare Your Life to Others
Comparison is the Thief of Joy
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Psalm 23:1-3, NKJV
In seasons of despair, it is difficult for the mind not to wander. We begin to look at the lives of others and sorrowfully smile as we witness what we perceive as beautiful lives. We desperately desire the happiness we see. Hopelessness and grief swarm us as we feel we’ll never attain the joy we see in others. But, have you ever heard the saying, comparison is the thief of joy? I know it’s an overused saying, but it holds so much truth.
When we compare our lives to others, we’re devaluing the beauty of our unfolding stories and giving up before God has finished writing our stories. We each have a unique purpose, why we were placed on this Earth. Do not let what you perceive in the lives of others tear you away from what God is doing in yours.
For the most part, when we compare ourselves to others, the envy stems from what others have. But I ask you, what do you have? When God met Moses at the burning tree, Moses told God he was not enough of a person to free the Israelites from Egypt; God ignored Moses’ vocalization and instead asked Moses what was in his hand. Moses had a staff; he had all he needed with him.
When your mind begins to sway, wondering what it would be like to be the person you’re bypassing on your phone as you scroll, take inventory of what you have. Because God has given you an assignment: dreams, desires, goals, and resources for you to achieve for His glory, do not become distracted by what others have and focus on what you have. Life is so much more than materialism.
Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? (Matthew 6:25, NIV).
5. Believe
You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you. It is easy to believe a rope to be strong and sound as long as you are merely using it to cord a box. But suppose you had to hang by that rope over a precipice. Wouldn’t you then first discover how much you really trusted it? (A Grief Observed, C.S. Lewis)
When we read the Old Testament, we see time after time God’s faithfulness to the Israelites. God delivered them from Egypt, the Israelites witnessed the parting of the Red Sea, God gave them manna every single day, and yet, time and time again, the Israelites were frightened at every roadblock they encountered; there was no belief.
In John 16:9, Jesus tells his disciples that the world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in him. Our paralyzation in times of turmoil, our lack of action, hurts God’s heart, for through our actions, we demonstrate to Him whether we believe His word. For this reason, James 1:22 says to be doers of the word, and not hearers only(NIV) because through doing, there is faith. And God’s Word says to have faith and to be courageous; God’s Word promises us victory. When we muster the courage to having faith in difficult times, we give God our surrender, our hearts, our faith, and our trust.
Above all, remember, God loves you.
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