When you live in the desert, rain is a precious thing. It brings new life and refreshes those who live there. Goodbye dust and heat and brownness! My family would put on swimsuits and go outside to watch for the rain so we could dance in it when it finally came down.

I had not only been living in a literal desert the a few years, but a metaphorical one too. My family and I had been going through some hard seasons, and we were ready for rain. The good thing is that rain always comes. Seasons always change. Sometimes it’s not until Heaven, but seasons change — it’s just their nature.

Reading through the prophets can sometimes feel depressing... lots of doom and gloom and dire warnings and sin. We are promised trials in this world (see John 16:33). But if you read the prophets — really read them — you’ll find that beneath all the unpleasant things, there is a lot of grace, mercy, and hope. Though we are promised trials, Jesus has already overcome the world that weighs so heavily on us.

Yes, there will be difficult times. But there will also be healing for the ill, streams in the desert, and grass where the jackals once lay. I don’t know what hard thing you might be going through, but remember that seasons will change. Your trial will end eventually. It does get better. So, take hope.

God, thank you for your mercy and grace. Thank you that you are with us no matter what season of life we are in, and thank you that seasons change. Please help me remember that in your love, I have hope.

Today's Challenge: Write down all the ways God is using the season you are in for his glory and your good, and don’t forget to hope for the next season.



Tags: waiting on God Hope Isaiah 35 Perseverance
Photo Credit: Sonika Agarwal on Unsplash