This episode focuses on trusting God through the valleys, dry spells, and in seasons of darkness, famine, or waiting… Because regardless, we all go through different types of valleys. We all go through different kinds of darkness, trials and more difficult seasons.

I am sharing the 5 steps the Holy Spirit has revealed to me from first hand experiences on how exactly to trust Him fully when you are in your valleys, how to hold the faith & how to remain obedient in the process. Are you ready? Let’s dive in.

We all experience some pretty difficult valleys, don’t we? Whether it be that nothing seems to be falling into place, or you’re working so hard and not reaping the rewards. Or you’ve been hurt, betrayed, or rejected, or perhaps you’re just in a really dark place and can’t seem to dig yourself out. Whatever the case may be, we’ve all experienced darkness, or a valley, in some way, shape, or form.

I have been through my fair share of valleys, especially over the last few years that I’ve been an entrepreneur. They’ve been especially challenging. I’ve experienced seasons of dry spells where I had no idea what I was going to do financially. I’ve experienced so many doubts, thinking, “Oh my goodness, I have to go and get a full-time job.” I’ve experienced major rejection, betrayal, and slander. I’ve had seasons where I just felt so depressed that I felt like I just couldn’t do anything or show up in any capacity. The list could go on and on.

Throughout my own valleys, the Lord has remained faithful. He is still the Most High. He is still good. He is always good. And throughout my valleys, He’s really shown me how to trust Him even deeper. I’ve always said I loved Him. And I’ve always said I trusted Him. But He’s showing me how to love Him and trust Him even deeper. 

Because of that, I feel very called to share with you the 5 steps He’s revealed to me that have helped me trust Him deeper, obey Him, and keep going even in the middle of a storm or when it feels like there’s no point or I can’t do it.

1. Draw closer to Him

The darkness can actually show us our faith. The beautiful thing about this is that our faith doesn’t ever quite look as magnificent when you’re on the peak of the mountain as it does when you’re in the valley, or when you’re in the trenches. Your faith doesn’t shine quite as bright in the light as it does in the darkness.

I’ve personally found in my life that some of the trials I’ve faced have come up for a multitude of reasons, but one of those has been to humble me. To go to the feet of Jesus. Darkness, if we allow it, can often draw us closer to Him. When things are going great, sometimes I get wrapped up in my life. Sometimes I notice situations happen to get me to realize I need Jesus. These situations can often be used to help us refocus on the most important thing which is Him.

My dog, Moxie, passed away in December of 2021, and needless to say, it broke my heart. Honestly, 2021 was one of the most trying years I’ve had to date. A few days after she passed, the Holy Spirit prompted me to read the whole Bible in 14 days. Now, this was very lofty, and I did not finish it in 14 days, but I tried and I consumed more Scripture in that time period than I ever had before. And I learned so much from that experience. I realized He didn’t prompt me to finish it in 14 days to check off a box and finish it in 14 days. He prompted me to do that so I would be constantly consuming His word. He healed my broken heart through that process.

Within a day or two of starting this and basically consuming 6+ hours of Scripture a day, I noticed a night and day difference within myself. I began to feel true joy again–and it showed. I was slower to anger, sadness, and anxiety. I’ve never experienced such a quick and extreme shift in my being before. If I’m being honest, I’m still truly marveled by it. Even though there were many times when I was tired and I had absolutely no idea what I was reading (just keeping it real), this still goes to show that consuming Scripture really does change everything. The Word really is JESUS and it IS alive and active.

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” –Hebrews 4:12

Even though I didn’t finish the entire Bible in 14 days, I did, however, spend way more time in the Word daily than I ever have before, and experienced so many valuable lessons. Some of those lessons I learned are important for the episode today:

• Sometimes what appears to be a “failure” in the physical world is actually a victory in the spiritual world.
• Sometimes the breakthrough can only happen when there’s a struggle, an obstacle, pain, or failure.
• Sometimes pain is the only way to bring us back to the feet of Jesus.
• When we live in a society that idolizes success, it can sometimes be difficult to find joy in the journey, and to find joy despite your circumstances.
• The Truth is that Jesus is joy. And the process of pain, failure and suffering will lead us back to Him if we let it.

My first big tip for you is that if you are in a valley right now, please spend even more time in Scripture. I know on the surface it sounds silly. But Scripture is Jesus. And the only way to God is through Jesus. Which means the way to draw closer to God is through Scripture. The Scripture is alive and active. It is a double edge sword; it is literally your weapon. Use it.

Fun little fact here: Psalm 46:10, the context of “be still and know that I am God,” was written in a time of trouble. It was written in a war zone–aka the valley, the dark. That means that regardless of your situation, we must rest in Him. Stop striving and fighting and allow Him to be the light. Allow Him to be the way in the dark. Our enemies, which are our idols or the things that control us, are what we need to turn to over Him in the darkness.

For example, if you are struggling in your business, and you’re obsessing over your business or how much money you’re making or not making (which, by the way, this was me), it’s important that you release and surrender that to Him. If you’re suffering from a breakup or a fallout with a friend, you have to release that to Him. Release that to Him and let Him lead you. This leads me into the second big step that He’s taught me to do in my valleys.

2. Surrender

Surrendering is not new. You have most likely heard about surrendering, and you may even think you are surrendering. But I’m going to drop a truth bomb for you, because I love you. If you are still consumed by it, and if your thoughts continue to go back to it, you have not surrendered it. There is still something about that thing, that experience, that person, that situation that you have not surrendered yet. When this happens, when your thoughts are so consumed by something, that can also become your idol. What we focus on becomes our idols.

I know that this can be easier said than done. I know this. I know we can feel it isn’t that simple. Why isn’t it that simple? The truth is that it’s not that simple because we don’t have the power on our own to totally let things go. We don’t have the power on our own to end anxious thoughts. But God does. Is it a challenge for me in these moments? Absolutely. I am not not saying it’s not hard. But this is when you really have to beg God to take it from you.

At the end of the day, surrendering is like a muscle. The more you practice it, the stronger and easier it gets. And just like a muscle, it has the capacity to keep growing and to keep building on itself. There’s always more growth to do in this area. There’s always more surrendering.

We resist surrendering so much, but once we surrender, we have so much peace and joy. So why do we keep holding on to these things? Our flesh is literally trying to keep us away from God, because our flesh wants to be in control. But what is that actually doing for us? It’s making us angry, sad, and afraid. No more. Let God take it from you.

I’m going to tell you right now that God loves you. He will keep trying to get you to surrender. He’s not going to stop. He loves you. He doesn’t want you to suffer in this way. He doesn’t want you to fill yourself with the anxieties of this world. He wants you to rest in Him, and He is going to teach you in one way or another, so you might want to go ahead and practice true surrender.

The next step He has taught me in the valleys is to…

3. See the Unseen

What I mean by this is that even though it appears as if it’s all falling apart, perhaps it’s all falling together. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Trusting God and having faith looks like walking through the valley even when you have no idea what God is doing. It wouldn’t be faith if you always saw it. It’s literally about seeing the unseen. Not everything will appear to be good, but it will work together for the good of those who love Him.

How can we do this? How can we actually see the unseen? I believe we can do this in two different ways.

First, look for the blessing. Look for the blessing in the valleys, but also look for the blessing every moment of every day. I teach my clients to be on the lookout for miracle moments. These miracle moments are essentially moments in your life that just show you that God’s promises are coming to fruition. Y’all, you should have so many miracle moments throughout your day that you probably often neglect, and it’s really important that we train our minds to look for the blessings. It’s important to document them/read them to remind yourself of them when doubt or fear sets in.

In terms of being in the dark, you must shine light on the darkness. Matthew 5:15-16 says, “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Y’all, Jesus is the light. If you want to move through the darkness, you must consume Him and let Him shine through you. Y’all that is a blessing all by itself. Perhaps the blessing in the darkness is for you to rekindle and reignite that relationship with Him.

The second way to see the unseen is to look for the lesson. What is the Lord showing you? Perhaps it’s that He is wanting to help you overcome your flesh so the Holy Spirit can fully overtake you. Perhaps He’s teaching you that you still have some anger and resentment you keep holding on to from your past. Or perhaps there’s still some pride He’s wanting you to work on.

Psalm 18:28 says, “You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.” This is literally saying He is going to turn your darkness into light. What if you have to go through the darkness so that you can further allow Him to overtake you and let Jesus shine through you even brighter? The truth is that fruits of the spirit cannot be produced without Holy Spirit power. If we aren’t prepared to let Him flow through us, we’re not going to bring forth fruit.

A lot of the time, our darkness or our valleys are literally Him molding us to be a stronger vessel for Him. Isaiah 64:8 says, “But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” He is preparing you! I urge you to look for that lesson and also realize that lesson is a blessing in and of itself because He loves you.

One thing I think is also important to note here is that light can often show us the darkness that remains. Ephesians 5:13 says, “But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.” When we begin digging into Scripture and we are being sanctified, there are going to be valleys because He is going to get the darkness out of you. He is purging you, and purging isn’t often very pretty. So, again, I urge you to be grateful for these moments–to look for the blessing and the lesson. Because He’s preparing you. He’s purging you. He’s teaching you. And He’s molding you to fulfill your ultimate purpose–which is to continuously love Him and make Him known.

Now this leads me to the fourth step he’s taught me in trusting Him through the valleys.

4. Trust the Path

If you’re going through a valley, a dry spell, or darkness how do you know if you should keep going or give up? I’ve personally asked myself this question many, many times. I know when I hit a valley, I am all of a sudden flooded with every insecurity or doubt I ever faced and it makes me question: is this a sign from God that I need to move? Or is this the enemy trying to deter me? How do you know?

Here’s how you know. Anything instilling fear, guilt, or shame is from the enemy. The enemy is going to do their best to convince you to quit based on your doubts or your insecurities. The enemy is going to use your flesh to try to manipulate you. But God will just simply shut the door. He’s not going to instill fear, or guilt, or shame. He’s not going to use your insecurities against you.

2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” So, if you’re going through a valley, and you’re thinking “do I need to quit,” it’s important to get to the root of that thought. Why do you think this? Is it because you think you’re not good at something? You feel like an imposter? You’re comparing yourself to others? What is it? If it’s because you feel insecure, that is not from God. This leads me to step number 5

5. Keep on Walking

It’s important to be obedient. If He’s called you to this business, walk. it. out. Keep going even when it feels like nothing is working. Take intentional aligned action towards what He’s telling you. Keep walking despite the lies the enemy is feeding you.

How do you keep walking? Draw closer to Him. Surrender. See the unseen. Trust the path.

Next Steps

That’s it, friends! Those are the 5 steps the Holy Spirit has revealed to me from first hand experience on how exactly to trust Him when you are in your valleys. How to hold the faith and remain obedient in the process. I really hope you enjoyed today’s episode.

If you want to chat more about today’s show or have any questions, please join our FREE Facebook community called Reclaimed to Reign. You should be able to search for it and find it, but you can also use the link bit.ly/reclaimedtoreign.
In addition, if you would like to dive deeper into your relationship with Jesus as you are growing your faith-based business, check out my FREE 3 Day Devotional Series for Faith-Fueled Female Entrepreneurs called ROOTED.