How to deepen your walk with God: It starts with understanding your seasons.

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Author Wangui Hinga
Author Wangui Hinga

I sat on my bed with tears in my eyes. I had been in this same position countless times before, and yet, here I was again. God felt far off, and my life, through the lenses I was looking through, seemed bleak.

Could God hear? Did he see the tears? What about the confusion, the broken dreams, and the anger simmering just below these frustrated tears. 

As a Christian and an introvert, I feel safer when I’m grounded. When I have a glimpse into the next action step, and when I have some form of control. However, during this past season, it looked like God had pulled the bottom from under me.

I was floating, scared, angry, and frustrated?

So what should I do next? My living situation was not part of what I had envisioned. My school life was somewhat suspended, and I did not have a job(I still don’t).

Maybe like me, you are feeling lost and confused. As a person who has been there, living without a clear picture of your next step is frustrating, to say the least.

Here is one truth that many might find impossible to believe.

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You can still deepen your walk with God, even when your life is suspended. You can walk through the difficult moments, and find joy, and live in peace even if you are in the middle of a stormy season.

But first….you need to recognize the season you are living in.

When the army is going out to war, they gather their supplies, train, build teams and implement strategies to give them an advantage over the other troops. And just like the army, you need to prepare for each season.

Walking blindly without knowing the seasons in your life only results in a lot of confusion, pain, and failure.

In 1st Peter 5:8, he describes Satan as a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Satan wants to rob our joy, sow confusion and hinder the deepening of our walk with Christ. At the beginning of verse eight in the same chapter, Peter reminds us to be sober and vigilant at all times. 

Recognizing your seasons helps you make the right decisions but most importantly, it safeguards you from being devoured by the enemy.

How does God reveal seasons in our lives?

God works differently for every person. Here is how he revealed to me my current season, which helped me prepare and thrive in that part of life.

God uses His word to show you your life seasons.

For present-day Christians, the Bible is God’s way of letting you in on what he has planned for you. It’s a guide and a light for you during confusing seasons. For example, I found myself in a difficult season where I was constantly grumbling and complaining.

During my bible studies, God used chapters and verses from his word to point me towards endurance. A day would not pass without his spirit guiding me towards a chapter on perseverance. 

I got the hint pretty early, and even though it was hard, I was able to learn endurance during trouble and be a more thankful and content Christian.

He speaks to you during prayer.

If it were up to most Christians, we would prefer God to speak to us like in the old. (A loud voice like Moses’s experience, or hot coals like in Isaiah’s case). 

Even if we don’t get the experience of Jeremiah or Moses, Jesus left us with the Holy Spirit. The spirit is a guide, a counselor, and a helper. When we pray in spirit and truth, the Holy Spirit will nudge us in a direction that will reveal our seasons.

Depending on your circumstances and your calling, God can use any means that he deems best for you. It could come as a vision, a dream, or a prophecy. What matters is obedience, which leads us to our next part.

How to thrive in any season and come out with a Christlike character?

Different seasons are there to teach and train us to mature more into the character of Jesus. At the end of your season, it’s God’s will that you would grow closer to him. God can use one season to help you become free from sin, another to teach you faith, and yet another to teach you how to be a better mother, spouse, or Christian servant.

As much as it is hard, obedience is the main ingredient for coming out of a season victorious. A willingness to find God’s will and follow it through will help you see your seasons as an opportunity to deepen your walk with Christ.

You can only learn to be obedient by prayer and reading your bible. When you read your bible, you get to know God’s will, and when you pray, it solidifies your strength and will to put the word into practice. 

Talking to people who have been through the same season as you also helps. One, they have the experience, and two, having someone to pray with you during a difficult season eases the challenges to some extent.

Now, as I look back, I realize my tears were of frustration and confusion. I did not recognize my season or what I was supposed to learn from the situation. It was challenging, but once I learned to go back to the drawing board(prayer, and a thirst for his word), I was able to understand my season. In turn, I began to live fully and thrive instead of surviving through the challenging times.

Whatever season you are going through, God has promised to walk you through it. In Psalms 32:8, God makes a promise to those who believe. 

“I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go. I will counsel you with my eyes upon you.”

Sister, God does see you, even when you are confused and frustrated. He only wants you to find him in the pages of his word. Then, he will show you the way.

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Wangui Hinga

Wangui Hinga is a young Christ-follower living in Kenya. Through her blog Scripturesandliving.com, she writes to help young and new adult women discover Christ and their identity in HIM.