Honoring God in Different Seasons of Life | Faith, Change, and Community

To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:1, AMPC

Life has a way of shifting just when we think we’ve finally settled into a rhythm. One season flows smoothly, and the next arrives with unexpected changes that stretch our comfort and our faith. Learning how to honor God in different seasons of life requires humility and a willingness to trust Him, even when the changes feel inconvenient.

When Life Slows Down After the Kids Leave Home

When the children moved out and I finally quit crying every time they left after visiting (okay, I’m still working on that one), I began to develop and even enjoy my new routine. Life grew quieter. Slower. And honestly, sweeter in some unexpected ways.

I scheduled my work-from-home days with slow starts with Jesus, cradling a hot cup of coffee while the house stayed still. I only went into the office one day a week. The rest of the time, I stayed in my pajamas, solving problems and completing work tasks from my computer desk at home. Everything stayed remarkably clean. I loved the rhythm of being home ninety percent of the week.

A Career Shift and a New Season of Faith

Then this fall, God threw a curveball.

I stepped away from my full-time position at church and focused fully on my publishing company. It was hard to step away, to be obedient. I felt a little guilty some days when the woman who took over my position would call with questions, or I’d think about things I had always done and wondered to whose plate it had been added. There were days I wondered if I’d made a mistake, especially when the income we’d budgeted was no longer coming in each week.

There were moments when I questioned if I’d heard God correctly. But each time I considered the option to return to my previous job or consider a different one, I felt something within me become uneasy and heard His whisper to trust Him. Even in moments of uncertainty.

Life is rarely static. God sometimes calls us beyond what feels naturally comfortable. He does this, not because He overlooks how He made us, but because He sees a Kingdom need and knows what He has placed within us to meet it. Comfort can make us complacent. It can cause us to forget our need for His strength, wisdom, provision, and mercy. Transformation happens through change, not from being stagnant.

So, I developed a different routine, adding personal writing deadlines and client projects to my daily calendar. I entered my office at the same time I always had, but the tasks were different.

As the days turned into weeks, I became more comfortable. Being home was the perfect fit for my personality, and I was enjoying my new season. I was learning to trust God in ways I’d never had to before, however, and that was stretching me. I had no idea who my next client would be nor when they’d find me. But He’d told me to trust Him, and He’d never failed me before. When I’d sit with my journal in the evenings, He would gently say not to worry. Just trust Him; He had a plan. I would remind myself of that each time my mind considered the future.

I’m not entirely independent. I am married and thankful to have a husband who takes care of many things I don’t even want to learn how to do. But sometimes dependence on someone other than yourself can feel like a weakness. I’m not even sure why that is. Perhaps it’s a pride issue. I mean, why can’t God just call us to do something we can do in our own strength?

Then I think about how much joy I get when my children ask me to help them with something. For me, honoring God in this season means trusting Him to provide when I don’t see the answer. It means asking Him to help me find the words to write that will matter to the one who will one day be reading them. For you, the plans He has in this season may look different. But what I know is that we can do so much more with Him than without Him. And sometimes that means He’ll stretch us in ways we never expected.

Understanding Your God-Given Personality

When I tell people I’m an introvert, they usually don’t believe me, but God knew how He wired me. He understands my introverted heart, my need for quiet, and the way stillness restores me. And yet this Christmas, when we welcomed a puppy, He reminded me that even introverts who love routine need to be stretched.

Suddenly, my carefully settled routine was interrupted by potty breaks, playtimes, unexpected messes, and constant reminders that life rarely stays neatly scheduled. My life was no longer quiet. Just when I’d sit down to work, there’d be a nudge at my feet or a whine from the pen for yet another trip outside (I mean, it’s been a whole ten minutes.) But here, in the middle of a storm of our own creation, God is using this new season to teach me.

I’m learning to have grace for interruptions (and for myself when I fail at that). I’m learning that what God is working in me is more important than the level of my productivity. It’s hard for someone who likes to check off all the boxes, but I’m in process.

Every season, quiet or chaotic, comes with paths He has already prepared, paths designed not only for my obedience but for my growth. He has good plans for my future and for my present. I just need to remember that whatever the season brings, I need to look for God’s hand and direction, and to trust that He knows my unique needs. Hearing His voice and communicating with Him is the key to hope and breakthrough.

But how do we hear His voice in our current season? For me, it’s this uneasiness when I’m about to make the wrong decision, and peace that settles when I’m aligned with His will. It’s sharing my thoughts and process with my husband or a trusted friend for counsel or when His Word speaks directly to my situation. I feel a nudge, get an idea I wouldn’t have normally thought of, or hear His voice whispering to my spirit. You may hear His voice differently, but He promises to give wisdom to all who ask (James 1:5).

For the Lord God is a Sun and Shield; the Lord bestows [present] grace and favor and [future] glory (honor, splendor, and heavenly bliss)! No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Psalms 84:11

I can trust Him, because I know He has my ultimate good as His priority.

The Need for Community

As much as I love being home, there are times when I don’t want to leave it. Frankly, it would probably be more accurate to say I hardly ever want to leave it. Staying home feels easier. Quieter. Safer. And I don’t have to put on makeup.

And yet, I know gathering with other believers is good for me.

Small group Bible study stretches me. We laugh together, and it can be so much fun. We get personal. Sometimes that’s hard. But hard and bad are not the same.

Church reminds me that faith isn’t meant to be lived alone, no matter how peaceful isolation can feel. God often grows us through people, even when we’d rather stay comfortable. And there is something that happens when we’re physically present with other believers. There’s encouragement, accountability, and a shared joy that I simply can’t replicate when I’m watching service online at home.

Scripture speaks clearly:

Let us consider and give attentive, continuous care to watching over one another… not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together.
Hebrews 10:24-25

Honoring God sometimes means choosing obedience over ease. It means showing up when you’d rather stay home. And when we mess up, miss it, or choose comfort first, He’s faithful to give us another opportunity to get it right next time.

Change Is Not Failure—It’s an Invitation

This week, I read a post from Hosanna Wong that deeply resonated with my heart. She shared that there are seasons when she doesn’t feel connected to God in the same way she once did—or the way others seem to be.

She wrote:

“There isn’t just one way to enjoy God. He designed your unique personality, placed you in a specific season, and delights in meeting you right where you are.”
– Hosanna Wong

That truth brought relief and reassurance. I love sitting with His Word every day. I’ve found I’m more successful at that when it’s the very first thing I do. Some days I get distracted and my Bible time is delayed. I’ve even missed it altogether. But even on days when I’ve neglected to sit with His Word, He still reaches out and brings a verse to mind. Or I see something that causes me to meditate on a verse I’d heard preached at church. Perhaps, like me, as seasons have changed, the way you spend time with God changes, too.

Seasons don’t take God by surprise. You don’t need to have everything in your life figured out and perfected to come to Him, either. And am I thankful for that! One of my favorite hymns tells us we can come to God exactly as we are! Matthew 11:28 tells us, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened…” So when I’m overwhelmed, have neglected something important, or am tired of pressing forward, He welcomes me to lean into Him for strength, rest, and peace.

Change doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. Often, it means God is inviting you to meet Him in a new way. Did you know that God is just as good at speaking to me in the yard while I’m walking the dog as He is when I sit with my Bible in my lap and a coffee cup in my hand? Not that I shouldn’t ever sit with His Word! He speaks through His Word, and I learn more of Him, His character, and how to live life well when I spend time reading it. But He speaks in a variety of ways. He’s always speaking. We just need to tune in to hear what He’s saying.

And when seasons you’re in feel like they’re never going to change? You can trust God even then. He sees you in the painfully long seasons. When the effort of getting up again feels harder. When it feels like you can’t shake the heaviness. In those moments, the One who never changes will be your strength. In 2 Corinthians 12:9b, Paul declares that in those seasons the “strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!” God’s presence won’t leave you in seasons of struggle, pain, or delay. He has staying power.

Trusting God in Every Season of Life

Scripture reminds us,
“To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

If you’re in a season where you’re questioning if you heard God right, where the bills keep coming and the income doesn’t seem to be changing, where your carefully ordered life has been interrupted by chaos you didn’t choose (or even chaos you did choose), take heart. He sees you. He’s not forgotten you. Seasons, even the ones that feel never-ending, are temporary. And the same God who whispered “trust Me” in my uncertainty is whispering the same thing to you.

Prayer:

Father, thank You for meeting me in every season of life, even the interrupted ones. Help me honor You in both stillness and stretch, in routine and in change. Teach me to trust You when life throws curveballs or feels stagnant, and to recognize Your presence in the unexpected moments of my day. In Jesus’ name, amen.

References:

Hosanna Wong, “Your Relationship With God Doesn’t Have To Look Like Everyone Else’s,” Proverbs 31 Ministries, January 28, 2026, https://info.proverbs31.org/your-relationship-with-god-doesnt-have-to-look-like-everyone-elses-hosanna-wong

All Scripture quotations marked are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright ©1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

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