As we have learned about winter and wilderness seasons and looked at the example of King David’s life, we have established that difficult times have mixed blessings and that they always serve a purpose. For the next few days, I want to give you a few practical things you can do to better navigate these challenging periods in your life, because inevitably, they will come. First of all, don’t ask too many questions.

When we encounter troublesome times, it’s natural to want to understand why, so we ask questions like, “Why is this happening to me?” or “What does this mean?” While I don’t want you to feel guilty for asking those things, I also want to encourage you with the thought that you don’t need to have all the answers. I remember with our son Cohen, who suffers from seizures, that anytime something bad would happen or he would have a new symptom, we wanted to understand all the ramifications of it. We found ourselves wrapped up in the will’s and what’s, and we were constantly inquiring “What does this mean for him as an adult?” or “Will this affect his schooling?” The problem is that having the answers to our inquiries didn’t always help us help him. That’s why we decided to simply trust Jesus, love our son, care for him as best we can, and choose to believe that his best days are ahead. This is also what I encourage you to do in your own life!

Friend, no matter what things look like, trust the Lord and build your faith! Focus on His goodness, not your problems, and keep putting one foot in front of the other. As Marcus Aurelius once said, “A cucumber is bitter, throw it away. There are briars in the patch, turn aside from them.” There’s a lot of wisdom there and I encourage you to take it to heart. Jesus is with you in each season and He is going to see you safely through to the other side of every obstacle you face. You can rest easy, even when you don’t have all the answers, because you know the One who does! Isn’t that wonderful news?