(A personal reflection on facing seasons of struggle)
If you’ve ever flown, you can probably relate. One moment the flight is smooth. The plane is steady. The skies seem calm. Then, without warning, the aircraft suddenly drops. Your stomach tightens. Your hands grip the armrest. The cabin grows quiet, and everyone is reminded they’re not in control.
Maybe the winds shifted. Maybe the temperature changed. Maybe the plane hit a pocket of unstable air. Whatever the cause, it only takes a moment for a smooth flight to become a bumpy ride.
That’s flying. And, to be sure, that’s life.
There are days, and even seasons, when life shifts almost without warning. One moment, the path beneath our feet feels solid and steady. Then suddenly, things feel loose, uncertain, and uneven. In those moments, life can feel out of control and difficult to navigate.
We don’t choose those moments, but we all have to encounter them.
For me, one of those moments came this week when I received the awful phone call that my aging father had been found unresponsive in his bedroom and was being rushed to the hospital with a life-threatening medical crisis. For you, it may be something altogether different. Maybe it’s the news of a shocking diagnosis. Maybe it’s the sudden loss of a loved one or friend. Maybe it’s an unexpected change in employment, finances, family, or health.
Whatever the case, turbulence in life has a way of reminding us how little control we truly possess.
Yet in the middle of those kinds of moments, Scripture calls us to anchor our hearts in something solid, dependable, and deeper than our circumstances.
As the psalmist declares,
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” — Psalm 46:1 (NIV)
Notice the language of the text. The psalmist doesn’t describe God as a distant help or an occasional presence. He boldly declares that God is “an ever-present help.”
That means when the ground feels unstable, God is not. When our situation shifts, God does not. When life turns suddenly, God remains faithful. The turbulence of life doesn’t have the power to relocate God or reduce His love, awareness, or care for us.
That’s why our circumstances must never be allowed to rewrite our theology. We must be careful not to let what we’re walking through redefine what we know to be true about God. Difficulty doesn’t cancel His truth. Pain doesn’t erase His promises. Fear doesn’t get the final word. Even when life feels uncertain, God remains faithful, His Word remains steady, and His presence remains near.
What God has spoken shall always remain steady, even when life may appear unstable. As the writer of a Hebrew’s says,
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” — Hebrews 13:8 (NIV)
He never changes. He never shifts. He never turns. And when we learn to trust in this reality, our faith becomes more than a concept. It becomes a decision. It becomes a conviction empowering us to trust in what is true, even when what we see or feel may seem uncertain.
So here’s my advice. in seasons of turbulence, don’t interpret God’s power or promises through your temporal situations. Instead, interpret your situations through the unchanging nature of God. Because:
— He is still present.
— He is still faithful.
— And, He is still working.
Moreover, even now, especially now, He is holding you steady!
Today’s Prayer
Heavenly Father, in those moments when my life feels unsettled, help me to recall that You are not. Anchor my heart in Your truth, steady my thoughts with Your promises, and remind me that Your presence has not left me. I choose to trust You now…even in the midst of turbulence. So strengthen me today. I pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.