Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 1:2-4
New International Version
It’s been a minute since I’ve shared my personal words with you. My longtime supporters will know that writing is one of the ways in which I process my pain. And, my transparency is a tool I use to help others. My heart is still weak, my hands are still numb, but my spirit is strong and my hope even stronger. I don’t take pride in being a spiritual punching bag but James does tell us to count it all joy when we face diverse challenges.
With a little time on my hands on day 2 of my mental health days off from work, I type this and reflect on new years eve in 2019. God gave me a vision of a steep, dark, mountain that was in my path. In the vision, I couldn’t get around it, it wouldn’t move, but I felt God leading me to go over it. It was a challenging season I would have to overcome. I was exhausted and ready to celebrate all the things God had promised me but I had one last season to face before I could bask in all that wealth and prosperity on the other side.
For the sake of this piece, I will refer to this mountain as my season of refining and character development. I often think of it too as a Job-like experience because boy let me tell you…
We’ve been in a panny for God knows how long and I HAVE BEEN THROUGH IT. The loss, pain, hopelessness, heartbreak, mistrust, separation, lack (and the list goes on) has been unimaginable. Thankfully, through it all, I haven’t lost my hope in God nor my love for Him. I’ve said this on my Instagram before that there were days in 2020 where I felt like denouncing my faith because it was just too much weight spiritually and emotionally. I was tired of the warfare, tired of the responsibilities and was just plain over it.
I apologize in advance for not going into detail about these experiences in this post. I have been in this process long enough to know that the timing of when we share our testimonies is just as important as the testimony itself. We run the risk of discouraging others or causing them to move prematurely. Many of our onlookers or fellow believers in Christ are not mature enough to process many of our testimonies. Wisdom is knowing when to speak, how to speak, and where to speak.
I believe that there are lessons in seasons of joy and seasons of disappointment. Not only that, how we navigate these seasons determine if we even get to see the lessons. Through my own seasons of disappointment I have gathered quite a few lessons so here’s four:
Without Faith, it is Impossible to Please God
One thing I have learned about seasons of disappointment is that they test your faith to increase it. The way life works are that tests can either be failed or passed. In Hebrews, we learn a lot about faith, see great examples about faith and understand that it is a requirement for serving God.
By faith, we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. (Hebrews 11:3)
By faith, Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith, he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. (Hebrews 11:4)
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith, he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith. (Hebrews 11:7)
My favourite – By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (Hebrews 11:8-10)
Try to process your pain without complaining
Yes, I know it’s hard but it’s 100% doable when we accept that some things are just outside of our control. We oftentimes don’t even set out to complain but in our process of trying to understand the circumstances leading to our disappointment, we end up whining.
I could easily list all the things I’ve been through and throw a pity party for myself but I won’t. Instead, I try my best to acknowledge my grief, process my pain, and be fully present in what I am experiencing. Maturity tells me that all things work together for good and that every process is for a purpose. It seems farfetched but you can get there too if you really want to.
Being in the will of God doesn’t mean that only good things happen
Immature me used to think that being submitted to God and being in His perfect will meant that you only experience joy and prosperity. Boy was I wrong. God leads along the path of righteousness but that path isn’t always what we think it will be. To be righteous means to live life in conformity to a known standard or law. The covenant people of God are called to live righteously, that is, in conformity to the demands of the covenant and according to God’s will. Having within the covenantal relationship with God the gift of salvation, they are to behave as the people of the holy Lord. *
I believe that dwelling in the place of righteousness requires constant conditioning. And conditioning often looks like disappointing situations.
How else will we display the fruit of the spirit if not through situations that will cause such fruit to develop? (Galatians 5:22-23)
The sooner we understand that there is disappointment even in God’s perfect will, the sooner perseverance will finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Disappointment doesn’t cancel the promise
It’s easy to focus on the problem and forget the promise. I am here to assure you that disappointment doesn’t cancel the promise. You may feel delayed or detoured but a huge part of the submission process is the heavy need to rely on God. His ways are definitely higher than ours and no matter how many visions or prophecies you receive, you will never be able to predict all the details of how they are going to pan out. Your only bet is to trust God, walk in obedience, remain prayerful and in the Word.
Remember, without faith, it is impossible to please Him. When you experience disappointment: acknowledge your pain, be present in your experience, try not to complain, look for the lessons and trust that God will never leave you nor forsake you.
Amoy is intent on fulfilling God’s will and purpose for her life. She is a celebrity publicist, a proud Jamaican, a writer, an international speaker, a media practitioner and a published author. She loves all things luxury and is on a mission to become one of the wealthiest women from her island and in the world. 40 under 40, is that you?