Walking Through Different Seasons of Life With God
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” - Ecclesiastes 3:1
Life is filled with changing seasons. Some arrive gradually, while others seem to change everything overnight. A new job, the loss of a career, an unexpected pregnancy, caring for an aging parent, the death of someone we love, or stepping into a new calling can move us into a season we never expected. Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” That verse reminds us that God is sovereign over every chapter of our lives. We can prepare and make plans, but ultimately, we must trust His timing and remain willing to follow wherever He leads.
We have walked through many different seasons during our marriage, and not all of them have been easy. Looking back, we can see a significant difference between the seasons we faced without Christ and those we experienced with Him as our foundation. Following Jesus did not remove the difficulty, uncertainty, grief, or pain, but it changed how we carried those burdens. Instead of turning away from one another or searching for an escape, we learned to turn toward God and face the season together.
One of the biggest transitions in our marriage occurred when Troy felt God calling him to leave his career in insurance and pursue ministry. At the time, Amy believed she might be the one God would call out of the corporate world. She wanted to work in missions and had repeatedly brought that desire before God. During her quiet time and prayer, however, she kept sensing the same answer: “You are where you are supposed to be for now.”
Amy continued sharing her plans with God, but the Holy Spirit kept teaching her patience and trust. She was ready to go all in, yet God seemed to be saying, “Hold on. I hear you, but it is not time.” Then Troy called and said he believed God was calling him to become a pastor. Amy immediately felt an overwhelming sense of peace and confirmation. She knew God was moving, but He was doing it differently than either of us expected.
That calling led us into a difficult two-year season. Troy left his job, returned to school, lost his income, and accumulated debt while preparing for ministry. It was financially challenging, but we also watched God provide through one small miracle after another. We did not know exactly how everything would work, but we could see enough of His movement to keep taking the next step.
The deeper struggle for Amy began after Troy entered vocational ministry. She watched God open doors in his life while wondering when He would do the same for her. When Troy was nearly offered a position in missions—the very area Amy had long felt called to—her disappointment, jealousy, and frustration came to the surface. Her prayers became painfully honest: “God, You have got to be kidding me. This is what I wanted. Why are You giving it to him? What about me? Have You forgotten me?”
Those questions exposed unresolved wounds in Amy’s heart, including feelings of abandonment and the fear that she was unseen. The Holy Spirit began showing her how tightly she was holding her own plans. She wanted to serve God, but she also wanted to determine what that service should look like. Through many tears, honest prayers, and moments of self-reflection, she began learning that surrender means allowing God to choose both the mission and the location.
Eventually, God helped Amy recognize that her corporate workplace was already a mission field. She worked with people from around the world who represented different cultures, beliefs, and walks of life. God continually placed people in front of her who needed compassion, encouragement, or someone willing to listen. Often, on the very days she felt most frustrated with her situation, He gave her an opportunity to speak into someone’s struggle.
It was not the answer Amy initially wanted, but it was confirmation that she was exactly where God needed her. We can become so focused on the ministry, job, or opportunity we want that we fail to see the people God has already placed in front of us. Ministry is not limited to a church building or a formal position. Sometimes it looks like treating a coworker with kindness, listening to someone who is hurting, showing mercy when others are impatient, or quietly demonstrating the love of Jesus in an ordinary conversation.
Instead of always asking, “God, when will You take me where I want to go?” we have learned to ask, “God, how are You using me where I am today? Who have You placed in front of me, and how can I represent Christ to them?” We may not understand the purpose of our present season, but that does not mean it is being wasted.
Another season that clearly showed us the difference Christ makes involved caring for Amy’s mother. Years before we began seriously following Jesus, her mother was diagnosed with cancer and moved into our home so she could be closer to her treatments. Amy took a leave of absence from work and became her mother’s full-time caregiver.
It was a painful and exhausting season. Amy spent every day taking her mother to chemotherapy and radiation treatments while watching her suffer. Troy continued working in the corporate world, and when he came home, he often withdrew into the bedroom and drank. Our daughter was in high school, working and spending time with her boyfriend, while our son disappeared into his room to play video games. None of us knew how to process what was happening, so we each found our own way to escape it.
Amy was left feeling isolated, abandoned, and depressed. We did not intentionally decide to leave her alone, but that was the result. Without Christ as the foundation of our home, the pressure fractured our family. Instead of moving toward each other, we all moved in different directions.
Years later, Amy’s mother needed to live with us again. This time, we had been following Christ for years, were involved in the church, and had allowed God to reshape our marriage and family. Her arrival was unexpected, and caring for her was still incredibly difficult. She experienced heart attacks, shingles, a broken back, chronic pain, and many other health challenges. Following Jesus did not make those circumstances easy, but it completely changed how we walked through them.
This time, our family came together. Troy was present and willing to help. Our children visited and spent time with their grandmother. We shared responsibilities instead of leaving everything on Amy’s shoulders. When difficult moments arose, we prayed, communicated, and supported one another.
Amy and her mother shared a close relationship, but they could also clash at times. There were days when hurtful words were spoken or exhaustion took over. During those moments, Amy could go to God honestly. She would cry, pray, and ask, “Lord, am I doing this well? Am I honoring my mother? Am I disappointing You?” God continually met her with comfort and peace, reminding her to remain faithful to what He had placed in front of her.
We cared for Amy’s mother until she passed away. Although that season contained many painful days, we now treasure the time we were given with her. She saw her great-grandchildren regularly, attended church with us, watched services online, began reading her Bible, and asked Amy to pray for her. What could have fractured our family again became a season in which God brought us closer.
The circumstances were similar both times, but our foundation was completely different. Without Christ, we escaped, isolated ourselves, and fell apart. With Christ, we still experienced pain and exhaustion, but we knew where to take them. We could turn to God in prayer and turn toward one another for support. The difficulty remained, but Jesus gave us unity, strength, comfort, and purpose in the middle of it.
Today, we are walking through another major transition. Troy has stepped away from his pastoral position to build Kingdom Chaos into a full-time ministry, while Amy continues working in the corporate world and helping with the ministry as much as possible. In many ways, it feels similar to the season when Troy first left his insurance career, but God has changed both of us through everything we have experienced since then.
Amy still wrestles with God, but her prayers have changed. She is learning to hold her plans with open hands. She still tells God about her desires, but instead of demanding a specific outcome, she is asking, “Lord, what are You teaching me today? What do You need me to do today?”
She believes God may be preparing her for something new, but she does not know exactly what it will look like or when it will happen. Her responsibility is not to force the next season into existence. Her responsibility is to remain faithful in the current one and trust God with whatever comes next.
That is what open-handed surrender looks like. We can make wise plans, save money, prepare for retirement, develop our skills, and think carefully about the future. But we must remain flexible enough for God to redirect those plans. We have saved money in a retirement account, but we do not know whether God may ask us to use some of those resources to build this ministry. Perhaps what we thought was preparation for retirement was actually preparation for a calling we could not yet see.
Preparing for a new season involves both practical and spiritual preparation. Genesis 41 shows Joseph using the years of abundance to prepare Egypt for the coming famine. In the same way, we should manage our finances wisely, build healthy relationships, care for our health, develop useful skills, and prepare for foreseeable needs. Faith does not mean refusing to plan.
But practical preparation is not enough. We must also prepare our hearts. Matthew 4 describes Jesus being led into the wilderness, where He fasted for 40 days and was tempted by Satan. When the attack came, Jesus was physically weak, but He was spiritually prepared. He knew the Word of God and remained connected to His Father.
We prepare spiritually by consistently reading Scripture, praying honestly, remaining connected to Christian community, and allowing God to transform our hearts before the crisis arrives. We cannot wait until everything falls apart to begin building our foundation. The habits we develop during peaceful seasons help sustain us during difficult ones.
Joseph’s life is another powerful example. God gave Joseph dreams that seemed to point toward an incredible future, but his life initially moved in the opposite direction. His brothers betrayed him, he was sold into slavery, falsely accused, imprisoned, and forgotten by someone who had promised to help him. Sitting in that prison cell, Joseph could not see how any of it connected to the dreams God had given him.
Yet God was still working. He used years of disappointment and waiting to prepare Joseph for leadership and to shape his heart. By the time Joseph’s brothers stood before him, he was prepared not only to manage a famine but also to forgive the people who had betrayed him. The season that looked like abandonment was actually preparation.
We can see the same pattern when we look back over our lives. In the moment, we often wondered where God was and why He was not moving according to our plans. Years later, we could see how He had been preparing us, protecting us, correcting us, and positioning us for what came next.
Whatever season you are walking through, we encourage you to become completely honest with God. He can handle your questions, frustration, fear, disappointment, and grief. You do not need to clean up your prayers or pretend you are fine. Bring Him the raw truth of what is happening in your heart.
Then allow the Holy Spirit to help you examine yourself. Instead of only asking, “Why did You allow this?” ask, “What are You teaching me? How are You asking me to become more like Christ? How can I love more like Jesus today? Who have You placed in front of me during this season?”
Prepare wisely, but hold your plans with open hands. Save, plan, learn, and take responsible steps, but leave room for God to redirect what you have prepared. Focus on being faithful today and allow Him to carry tomorrow.
Every season has a purpose, even when we cannot see it. The difficult season will not last forever, and the comfortable season may change sooner than we expect. But God remains the same through all of them. He is faithful when we understand His plan, and He is faithful when nothing makes sense.
We may not know what our next season will require, but we know who will walk through it with us. That is enough to keep moving forward.
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