As we approach the last few months of the year, the weather has been slowly cooling, and a crisp chill seeps into the air. I personally love the autumn season here in upstate New York—I love walking outside in a cozy sweater as the red, orange, and yellow leaves gracefully fall from trees and blanket the ground in color. Yet I still cannot ignore that day by day, things are getting darker. The sun will soon start to set before 6 pm and warm, sunny days will be harder to come by. This darkness also can start to seep into our hearts and minds, polluting our thoughts and actions. How do we cultivate our faith and relationship with Jesus when the darkness creeps in?
1. Wait on the Lord’s Timing
Sitting in a four-hundred-student macroeconomics class in October, you would be lucky if the person next to you or directly behind you wasn’t coughing or sneezing. Unfortunately, I wasn’t so lucky. The worst of my cold lasted a week, and while it was relatively mild, it was both emotionally and physically taxing. During that week, I kept praying to God asking for healing if it was in His will, knowing that He had that ability. Yet, day after day, I woke up to the same symptoms. I found myself feeling disappointed in God. Was He hearing me?
But was I listening to Him? It was only on the fifth day that I realized I had not once opened my bible to read the Word while I was sick. I opened to Psalm 104, which speaks of the Lord’s creation and how He also cares and provides for His creations. I specifically took note of verses 19-23:
19 He made the moon to mark the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.
20 You bring darkness, it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
21 The lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.
22 The sun rises, and they steal away;
they return and lie down in their dens.
23 Then people go out to their work,
to their labor until evening.
In these verses, there is a clear distinction between day and night. Not only are the sun and moon physically distinct entities, each one serves a different part of His creation: the night is for beasts and animals whereas the day is for people. In other words, God intentionally has set specific times and ways to take care of the various parts of His creation. This passage along with verse 27 (“All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time.”) reminds us that God takes care of His people at His proper timing. In my prayers, although I repeatedly acknowledged that it was ultimately His will, did I truly understand and accept that it was? I approached God with little patience, expecting Him to work in a very specific way, in the exact way and time that I wanted Him to work.
Trust in the Lord wholeheartedly, and remember that He works in His own unexpected ways. He “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20) so be patient. We look to Him for His love and provisions at the proper time.
2. Make Space
During those five days, it was not surprising that I felt like there was silence between me and God. One of the main ways God speaks to us is through our reading and connection to His Word. In weeks like that one, where I felt exhausted and overwhelmed, turning to the Word in the mornings was refreshing and life-giving. Reading and praying through the book of Psalms has never failed to give me the rest and peace to take with me throughout the day.
Make it your priority to cultivate space and time with the Lord. Sometimes it can be hard to hold yourself accountable for dedicating time to the Lord. In that case, I recommend practicing with other people, mutually holding each other accountable. Practicing the Sabbath and doing my daily devotionals alongside my brothers and sisters has been immensely helpful and encouraging in building my spiritual discipline.
In addition to reading, be intentional in weaving prayer into your day. Whether it is during your daily travels to and from class, while you brush your teeth, or are waiting for a meeting or exam to start, reach out to and lean on Jesus. He wants to be there with you through it all, through the mundane and eventful, He will always be there listening to you, patiently waiting for you to turn to Him. “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of age” (Matthew 28:20).
3. Remember His Faithfulness
There was something a pastor said during a sermon a couple of months ago that has stuck with me through difficult times. The same God who saved the Israelites in Egypt, the same God who sent His one and only Son to live and die on Earth, the same God who performed unimaginable miracles is still working in us in the present day. Remember His faithfulness.
I was reminded of this while reading Psalm 74 a couple of weeks ago. Like many other psalms, Asaph initially questions why God has rejected them and continues to ask God to come destroy the enemy and redeem His nation. However, the part that stood out to me starts from verse 12 (NIV):
12 But God is my King from long ago;
he brings salvation on the earth.
13 It was you who split open the sea by your power;
you broke the heads of the monsters in the waters.
14 It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan
and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.
15 It was you who opened up springs and streams;
you dried up the ever-flowing rivers.
16 The day is yours, and yours also the night;
you established the sun and moon.
“But God is my King from long ago; he brings salvation on the earth” (Psalm 74:12). When things become harder, remember how God has worked in the past and how He has saved you, and know that He will continue to do so.
As the season progresses, make sure to continue to spend intentional time with the Lord and rely on Him. Remember His faithfulness, and wait on His timing. He strengthens those who put their trust in Him and is currently working in your life even if you cannot see it at the moment.
Photo Credit: Kristina Paukshtite