In Every Season
Carly // UGA Graduate
In every season, I will praise Him
Winter is not my favorite season. It’s cold, days are shorter, waking up is harder, and vibrant flowers and leaves fall away. Right when the cold starts to feel uncomfortable, I long for spring to arrive quickly. I long for the next season instead of enjoying or patiently enduring the present one.
Though this analogy is trivial, the reality is that my spiritual life is not too different than the way I treat winter. I don’t like uncomfortable things. When something difficult, disruptive, or discouraging happens, my instinct is to retreat and long for something better. Contentment and praise in every season are not natural for me, and they are things I have to fight for daily.
As I have shared this feeling with others and read the Word, I have found comfort in knowing this emotion is not unique to me. Our lives will be filled with a constant battle for joy amidst difficult things. Whether we are in the midst of difficulty, waiting, or peace, we are to continually praise the Lord. In every season, we are to praise Him.
One passage that illustrates this perfectly is in Habakkuk 3:
“Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation”
Habakkuk 3:17-18
Habakkuk’s words of praise are beautiful, illustrating his joy in the Lord despite lacking fruit, produce, flocks, and herds. Even while his life was in danger, he knew and worshiped the God of his salvation. When we understand the context of his praise, it is even more beautiful.
This song of praise comes at the end of Habakkuk after the Lord had just told him that the Babylonians would soon invade and destroy Judah for their sins. How could he possibly be singing after being told his people would be destroyed by a wicked nation? However, the Lord did not promise suffering to Habakkuk without also providing him promises to remember.
Even though a wicked nation would enter in for a time, the Lord cannot stand the one whose “soul is puffed up,” and He promises “the righteous shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). Though there was sin throughout the land, Habakkuk could take heart, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). The Lord would bring justice for Judah, and He would not leave Babylon unpunished.
What is Habakkuk’s response to these promises? Humble worship. He writes a psalm to be sung by God’s people. Habakkuk 3:17-18 is his invitation for us to praise the Lord no matter how difficult of a season God brings. Just as a husband and wife faithfully pledge themselves to each other “for better or for worse, whether rich or poor, in sickness and in health, till death do us part,” we pledge to rejoice in the Lord and take joy in the God of our salvation in every season.
The Lord delights in the humble faith, love, and obedience of His people even amidst calamity. This posture of praise during suffering is glorifying to Him. When all the things of this world are stripped away, and we can say with Job, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord,” we reflect the reality that heaven is our home and God is our greatest desire (Job 1:21).
Is there anyone greater to trust in than the God who brought Israel out of Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon? Habakkuk looked forward to when God would bring justice and provide His promised anointed one, and we now see God’s fulfilled promise in Jesus Christ. Is there anyone more worthy of glory than the God who brought us out of our sin, reconciled us to Himself through the precious blood of Christ, and will bring us into eternal life with His risen Son by faith?
We no longer have to wonder when justice will come because Christ sits on the throne, and he will return. We no longer long for a promised land or earthly kingdom because we are assured that we will be “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” and our inheritance is “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven” (1 Peter 1:3-4). Though we might feel like exiles and suffering servants on this earth, we rejoice that we have been granted the privilege to share in Christ’s sufferings that we might also share in his glory (1 Peter 4:13).
Do I dread difficult decisions, seasons, days, situations, tragedies, sins, temptations, conflicts, emotions, and trials? If I am being honest, yes. Fighting for joy amidst suffering is just what it sounds like—a fight. However, we can trust ourselves to a faithful Creator, Redeemer, Father, and Friend while doing good for the glory of God and the salvation of His people.
The words from a Puritan prayer I read recently have been written on a whiteboard beside my desk for me to read every morning. No matter what season you find yourself in, I hope this prayer serves as a final challenge and encouragement for you:
“Thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world,
and in love didst redeem my soul;
Thou dost love me still,
in spite of my hard heart, ingratitude, distrust…
If thou hast appointed storms of tribulation,
thou wilt be with me in them;
If I have to pass through tempests of persecution and temptation,
I shall not drown;
If I am to die,
I shall see thy face the sooner…
Only glorify thyself in me whether in comfort or trial,
as a chosen vessel meet always for thy use.”
“Year’s End,” a prayer from The Valley of Vision, Edited by Arthur Bennett. The Banner of Truth Trust; p. 111
Carly recently graduated from the University of Georgia and is a past intern and is very involved throughout the church. She is passionate about the Word of God and praying for and serving the nations!
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