Seasons of the Soul - Week 1: Trusting God Through Every Season
Most Christians know how to trust God in a moment.
When a crisis hits, we pray. When a need arises, we seek God. When life suddenly shakes beneath our feet, we know where to turn.
But what happens when the struggle doesn't last for a moment?
What happens when it lasts for months? Or years?
What happens when God seems silent?
These are the questions at the heart of Seasons of the Soul, a new series from Pastor Pat Bousum based on lessons learned through decades of walking with Christ. Throughout his own journey of faith, he has experienced the same cycle many believers know all too well: walking faithfully, stumbling, recovering, growing, and discovering that spiritual growth is rarely a straight line.
The Christian life isn't built only through moments.
It's formed through seasons.
Understanding the Seasons of the Soul
Living in Wisconsin gives us a front-row seat to the reality of seasons.
Winter gives way to spring. Spring becomes summer. Summer eventually fades into fall.
Each season carries its own characteristics, challenges, and purpose.
Spiritually, life works much the same way.
Scripture is filled with men and women who experienced seasons of waiting, testing, loss, growth, and renewal. Job endured a season of suffering. Abraham waited through seasons of uncertainty. Joseph lived through seasons of betrayal and imprisonment. David experienced seasons of hiding and hardship before stepping into God's promises.
The disciples had seasons.
The early church had seasons.
And if we walk with God long enough, we will too.
The problem is that many believers expect faith to feel steady and predictable. We assume that once we've found our footing with God, life should continue moving forward without interruption.
Then something changes.
A prayer goes unanswered.
A relationship breaks.
A ministry becomes difficult.
A door closes.
A season that once felt fruitful suddenly feels barren.
Our first instinct is often to assume that something has gone wrong, or worse, that God has gone missing.
Yet Scripture teaches the opposite.
A changing season is not evidence of God's absence.
It may actually be evidence of His activity.
Seasons Are God's Idea
From the very beginning of creation, God established seasons.
Genesis 1 tells us that God created the heavenly lights to mark "signs and seasons." After the flood, God promised Noah that seedtime and harvest, summer and winter, day and night would continue for as long as the earth remains.
Seasons aren't accidental.
They're intentional.
They're part of God's design.
And just as natural seasons serve a purpose in creation, spiritual seasons serve a purpose in our lives.
Every season is part of God's larger work of growth and transformation.
The Difference Between Permanence and Process
One of the greatest tensions in our walk with God is that we often want permanence while God is focused on process.
We want our circumstances fixed.
We want difficult people changed.
We want problems removed.
God is often working somewhere deeper.
He's working within us.
Spiritual growth rarely happens overnight. It unfolds through a process, and that process often requires seasons.
Consider a farmer standing in a frozen field in January.
The ground appears lifeless.
Nothing is growing.
Nothing is blooming.
Nothing is being harvested.
Yet the farmer doesn't assume the field is dead.
Why?
Because he understands the season.
His understanding changes his interpretation.
Likewise, when believers understand spiritual seasons, we stop assuming that hardship means failure. We begin to recognize that God may be doing important work beneath the surface that we cannot yet see.
The Greatest Danger Is Misinterpreting the Season
Often the greatest challenge isn't the season itself.
It's misunderstanding the season.
Many believers endure hardship fairly well.
What they struggle with is perspective.
Questions begin to surface:
Why is this happening?
Where is God?
What did I do wrong?
How do I escape this?
Without perspective, frustration grows.
Faith weakens.
Discouragement settles in.
Pastor Pat pointed to the prophet Elijah as an example.
After one of the greatest spiritual victories in Scripture on Mount Carmel, Elijah found himself discouraged, isolated, and asking God to let him die.
The facts hadn't changed.
God was still working.
God still had a plan.
But Elijah's interpretation of the season had become distorted.
God eventually reminded him that he was not alone and that there were still thousands who remained faithful.
The lesson is clear:
Our perspective can become clouded during difficult seasons, but God's purposes remain unchanged.
Every Season Has a Purpose
Ecclesiastes 3 begins with a powerful declaration:
"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven."
The Bible does not say there are seasons for some things.
It says there are seasons for everything.
A season is more than a stretch of time.
It is an appointed period in which God is accomplishing something specific.
Every season carries a purpose.
Even difficult seasons.
Even painful seasons.
Even the ones we would never choose for ourselves.
The season itself may not feel good.
But God's purpose within it always is.
That means waiting seasons have purpose.
Testing seasons have purpose.
Grieving seasons have purpose.
Even seasons of silence have purpose.
Nothing is wasted in the hands of God.
Ask Better Questions
When we find ourselves in a difficult season, our natural tendency is to ask:
"Why am I here?"
"How do I get out?"
But Scripture invites us to ask different questions.
Instead ask:
What is God teaching me?
What is He revealing about Himself?
What is He revealing about me?
What is He trying to show me during this season?
These questions shift our focus from escape to growth.
From frustration to understanding.
From resistance to surrender.
God may not always explain every detail of the season.
But He will reveal Himself within it.
Trusting the God Who Governs the Seasons
One of the most encouraging truths from this message comes from Psalm 31:15:
"My times are in Your hand."
Not just our victories.
Not just our breakthroughs.
Not just our easy days.
All of our times.
The joyful times.
The painful times.
The confusing times.
The fruitful times.
The waiting times.
Every season is held securely in God's hands.
And because our seasons are in His hands, they are never outside of His purpose.
If you're walking through a difficult season today, take heart.
Seasons do not last forever.
Winter eventually gives way to spring.
What feels barren today may be preparing for future fruitfulness.
What feels confusing today may one day become beautiful.
God is still present.
God is still working.
And God has not forgotten you.
The invitation is not merely to endure the season.
It is to trust the One who governs it.
Because spiritual maturity is learning to trust God in every season.
Even the ones we would never choose ourselves.
Join Us at LEV Church
If you're navigating a difficult season or simply want to grow deeper in your walk with Christ, we'd love for you to join us as we continue our Seasons of the Soul series.
No matter what season you're in, God is still at work, and He is not finished with your story.