Finding Joy in a Wilderness Season: How to Trust God and Find Peace When Life Is Hard

Have you ever looked at your circumstances and thought, "I should not have this much peace right now"?

Life can be genuinely hard. We can walk through wilderness seasons where circumstances haven't changed, answers haven't come, and we don't necessarily feel joyful.

But joy doesn't have to depend on life going well.

In this episode of Perspectives Into Practice, I sit down with my friend Trisha to talk about what God has been teaching her about finding joy and peace in Him while walking through a difficult season.

Trisha shares how God has reminded her through Deuteronomy 2 that He knows when we're walking through the wilderness. He hasn't forgotten us there. Looking back at her own season, she can see that even when life was incredibly difficult, God was with her, carrying her and providing what she needed.

One Scripture became especially important to her: "The joy of the Lord is your strength."

That joy didn't mean everything suddenly became easy. It wasn't pretending she wasn't hurting or forcing herself to be happy. It meant learning to draw her strength from God when she didn't have enough of her own.

We talk about the difference between happiness and the kind of joy that comes from God, and some of the simple practices that have helped Trisha keep returning to Him.

Sometimes it's noticing the rain she prayed for. Sometimes it's sitting still long enough to feel the wind or hear the birds. Sometimes it's writing down three things she's grateful for, laughing when life has become too serious, or staying in God's Word longer instead of giving up because she didn't immediately hear from Him.

There is so much beauty around us that we can miss when we're moving too quickly.

And sometimes finding God in a wilderness season begins by slowing down enough to notice that He has been there all along.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Finding joy when your circumstances haven't changed

• The difference between happiness and joy in God

• Trusting God through a wilderness season

• What Deuteronomy 2 teaches us about God's presence in the wilderness

• Finding strength in the joy of the Lord

• Recognizing God's provision when life is difficult

• Slowing down enough to notice what God is doing

• Finding God in simple, ordinary moments

• Sitting with God instead of rushing through time with Him

• Persevering in Scripture when you don't immediately hear from God

• Choosing gratitude in difficult seasons

• Using laughter and gratitude to shift your perspective

• Being honest with God when you don't feel joyful

• Seeking God instead of trying to create joy in your own strength

Friend, if you're walking through a wilderness season right now, you don't have to pretend that it isn't hard.

You don't have to manufacture joy or make yourself feel something you don't.

Go to God honestly. Tell Him where you are. Sit with Him. Stay awhile. Look around. Look back. Pay attention to the small ways He's caring for you that may be easy to miss when you're focused on everything that hasn't changed yet.

Your circumstances don't have to be perfect for you to experience the goodness of God.

And if you've been craving a place to walk through seasons like this with other Christian women who are learning to notice God, share what He's doing, and practice their faith in real life, I'd love to invite you into The Story Haven. It's a free community built around honest stories, real faith, and genuine connection. Come find your people at TheStoryHaven.net.

And if God is doing something in your life right now that you feel called to share, I'd love to hear your story. Visit PerspectivesIntoPractice.com to learn more about becoming a guest on the podcast.