When You’re In a Season of Struggle

Ugh.  Do you ever have a season of struggle?  Kind of like you’ve been planted, but you’re stuck?

Alright, friend, time for some real talk.

Do you ever have those days, weeks even, where it feels like you just cannot get ahead no matter what you do?  You’ve been praying for a change or a different season, but you just feel stuck, everything is dark, and you’re weary?

Come on, friend.  I know you know what I’m talking about.  Pretty sure we’ve all been there.

To everything there is a season

I, for one, have been there a time or two.  In those times, I kind of had to wonder if I parked the struggle bus, converted it to a tiny house, and decided to just live there.  It just seems like things were never going to improve or change.  (For the record, I’m all about the idea of tiny living… but, just not on the struggle bus.)

Surely, you know what I’m talking about, right?

I won’t go into the details of what caused my struggles.  We’ll save those for another time.  But, I tell you, the Lord has heard all about my struggles.  Every. Single. One.

I don’t know where you like to pray, but I often find myself praying on my drive to and from work.  I just get to listening to the Jesus jams and next thing you know, it’s time for prayer and a praise break.  If you happen to see someone in tears driving a red Jeep down the road at grandma speeds, don’t worry, it’s me.  All is well, it’s just prayer time.

The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:1, to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

That scripture is pretty plain, isn’t it?  I mean, the struggles fall under the everything category.  But, when things happen that worry us and feel like they’ll never get better, even though we give it to God and know things do eventually get better, we still question why things are happening.  We still wonder if the current struggle is permanent.  Am I right?

Even though the Bible clearly tells us that everything has it’s own season.  

(Really, friend.  I often say when I write, I write to myself.  Maybe this is one of those times?)

A Time to Plant and and a time to bloom

Here I was praying about the stuff that was wearing me down and just telling God all about how I was about to give up on some things I had been praying for.  I suppose I was just ready to let the struggles, all of them, be.  I mean, I can’t do anything to change some of the situations.  There’s not a single thing in this world that I could or can do to to push winter out and bring in a season of spring.

As I was praying, I kept questioning God why things were like they were.  I mean, maybe I didn’t necessarily say “Why, God, is this happening?”  Or “Why haven’t You changed this yet?”  But, my heart longed for an answer and I wanted to know when the change of seasons would come.

And wouldn’t you know, the answer to those questions came right on time.  I mean, literally within minutes.

So, here I am, nearly almost to work, and the host of the radio show that I was listening to comes back on to chat with her listeners.  She said something along the lines of “if you feel like you’re in a dark place, don’t give up.  Seeds, before they can bloom into a flower, have to be planted into the dark ground.  And eventually, with some rain, those seeds will sprout and grow into a beautiful flower.  If you feel you’re in a dark place, God is about ready to propel you into something good.  Don’t give up, just wait and see.” (I’m definitely paraphrasing here.)

Seeds, before they can bloom into a flower, have to be planted in a dark place. Don't give up. Click To Tweet

He makes everything beautiful in His time (even the season of struggle!)

I won’t lie, that definitely got my attention.  “Okay, Lord, I hear you.” 

Sometimes, in order for God to make everything beautiful, we, even though it’s tough, have to endure the seasons we don’t necessarily want to endure.

No one wants to go through a dark season.  Or a rainy season.  But, if we’re like seeds that are planted, we need those dark and rainy seasons in order to grow into the people God intends for us to be.

Sure, it may feel like those dark, rainy seasons last forever.  But, in reality, they don’t.  As the days go by, small, unnoticeable changes are happening.  There is a season for everything.  And, as the rest of Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, and a time to every purpose under the sun.

I’d almost guarantee you, fellow struggle bus rider, don’t have a clue why you’re dealing with half the things you’re dealing with.  One day, you just woke up and the struggle was there blocking out the sunshine.  But even still, the struggle you’re wrestling with has a purpose.  Even if it doesn’t feel like it.  Even if we whine and complain about wanting rid of the struggle that is plaguing us.  (Honesty hour: I may or may not whine and complain every now and then. I should probably work on that, actually…)

One day, the struggle will leave, you’ll see the sun again, and you’ll understand why you had to endure the things you did.  Maybe you’ll even have words of encouragement for someone else in the place that you once were, too?

Stay strong, friend.  Dark, rainy seasons don’t last forever.  Bloom where you’re planted.