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. They’ve been especially challenging, especially over the last few years that I’ve been an entrepreneur. 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.

If you are just wondering what in the world God is doing in your life right now and how to TRUST Him through the valleys of life and business… this is for you, my friend.

So, today, I am sharing 5 steps the Holy Spirit has revealed to me from first-hand experiences on how exactly to trust Him fully when you are experiencing difficult seasons, how to hold the faith & how to remain obedient in the process.

 WHAT YOU WILL LEARN: 

• How to trust God during difficult seasons of life & business
• The way I was able to get through one of the biggest heartbreaks of my life
• Why darkness in our lives is necessary
• The reason “surrendering” hasn’t been working for you

 Let’s dive in.

Step #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 are on the peak of a mountain as it does when you’re in a valley or in the trenches.

Your faith doesn’t quite shine 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 so I can go to the feet of Jesus. 

If we allow it, darkness can often draw us closer to Him.

When things are going really great, sometimes I get really wrapped up in my life but sometimes I notice that there are situations that actually lead me to realize that I need Jesus and these situations can often be used to help us refocus and realign on what the most important thing is, which is Jesus.

Let me share a story with you. 

My dog, Moxie unexpectedly passed away back in December of 2021. Needless to say, it really just broke my heart. Honestly, 2021 was one of the most trying years I’ve had to date but 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 have before. I learned so much from that experience and realized He didn’t prompt me to finish it in 14 days to check off a box and finish it. He prompted me to do that so I would be constantly consuming His Word, and so He could heal my broken heart through that process.

Yes, I’m still sad when I think about it, but something changed in me. Within a day or two of starting this and basically consuming 6 plus hours of scripture a day, I notice 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 have never experienced such a quick and extreme shift in my being before, and if I’m being honest, I’m still truly marveled by it. 

Even though there were so many times when I was tired and I had absolutely no idea what I was reading – I’m just keeping it real with you – This still goes to show that consuming scripture really does change everything.

The Word really is Jesus and it is alive and it is active. 

Hebrews 4:12 says, “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.”

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 had before and I experienced so many lessons. Some of the lessons I learned are really important for today, so I want to share them with you: 

Lesson #1: Sometimes what appears to be a “failure” in the physical world is actually a victory in the spiritual world

Lesson #2: Sometimes the breakthrough can only happen when there’s a struggle, an obstacle, a pain, or a failure.

Lesson #3: Sometimes pain is the only way to bring us back to the feet of Jesus. 

Lesson #4: When we live in a society that idolizes success and hustle culture, it can sometimes be difficult to find joy in the journey and to find joy just despite our circumstances. 

Lesson #5: The truth is that Jesus is joy, and the process of pain, failure, and suffering will lead us back to Him if we allow it to. 

NOTE: If you’re in a valley right now, I highly recommend to try and spend even more time in scripture than you have before

I know on the surface it might sound silly, but scripture is Jesus and the only way to God is through Jesus. This means the way that we can draw closer to God is through scripture because the scripture is alive and active. 

It’s a double-edged sword. 

It is literally your weapon. 

Use it. 

Also, a 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 or the darkness.

That means that regardless of your situation, it’s important to rest in Him, to stop striving and fighting, and allow Him to be the light. Our enemies, which are idols or the things that control us, are what we need to turn over to Him in the darkness.

For example, if you are struggling in your business and obsessing over your business or how much money you’re making or not making, it’s important that you release and surrender that to Him. Or maybe if you’re suffering from a breakup or a fallout with a friend, you’ve got to release that to Him.

Release that to Him and let Him lead you.

Before I share with you the second thing, I have actually been pondering over the idea of reading the Word in 30 days and doing it again with a dear friend of mine, Rachelle McKinnon. If you don’t know Rachelle McKinnon, she’s been on the podcast before and is the founder of Redeemed Wholeness. We are considering hosting a Word in 30 days together, and I am curious if you would be interested in this. If you are, please send me a DM on Instagram.

Step #2: Surrender

Surrendering is not new. You have most likely heard about surrendering and you may even think that you are surrendering. 

I’m going to drop a truth bomb for you because I love you: If you are still consumed by something and your thoughts continue to go back to it, you probably have not surrendered it.

Let me repeat that. 

If you are still consumed by it and your thoughts continue to go back to it, you have probably 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 and your thoughts are so consumed by something, that can also become your idol.

What we focus on becomes our idol – trust me, I know that this is easier said than done and I also know that we can feel that it isn’t that simple.

 But why isn’t it that simple? 

The truth is that it’s not 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 these anxious thoughts, but that’s why we have the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit has the authority to end these anxious thoughts. Because we are new creatures in Christ, because we are new beings, we have the authority to end these thoughts.

Is it a challenge for me in those moments? Absolutely. I’m not going to say it’s not hard, but it’s hard because our flesh wants to stay in these self-sabotaging spirals, but our spirit has the authority to end it.

So, we must crucify that flesh. We must lay down and crucify the idols that our flesh wants to hold onto. 

That is true surrender and true surrender requires obedience. Laying these things down, that’s obedience. 

What is He telling you to let go of? Crucify it. Give it to Him. 

I am so tired of seeing so many believers walk around being fueled by their flesh when they can be fueled by their faith. That’s why we talk about being a faith-fueled entrepreneur here. Because so many believers are still holding on to these fleshly wants and desires that are keeping them stuck in self-sabotaging patterns. 

It’s time to end it. 

We resist surrendering so much, but once we surrender, we experience so much peace and joy and freedom.

So, why do we keep holding on to these things? 

We keep holding on because our flesh is trying to keep us away from God. Our flesh wants to be in control, and it doesn’t want our spirit to be in control.

But what is that actually doing for us? It’s making us angry, sad, and afraid, and keeping us stuck in these flesh cycles, in these sin cycles, in these self-sabotaging behaviors that we feel like we can’t stop.

But it’s time to stop it. No more. Let God take it from you. 

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

It’s time. 

Step #3: See the Unseen

What I mean by this is that even though it appears as if everything’s falling apart, perhaps it’s actually 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 already saw it. Not everything will appear good, but it will work together for the good of those who love Him. 

So, how can we do this? How can we actually see the unseen? 

I believe that 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 students to be on the lookout for miracle moments and these miracle moments are essentially moments in your life that just show you that God’s promises are coming to fruition. You probably have so many miracle moments going on throughout your day that you may not even be paying attention to and It’s really important that we train our minds to actually look for these miracles. It’s important to document them, read them, and remind yourself of them when doubt or fear sets in.

Now, in terms of being in the dark, you must shine the light on the darkness. Matthew 5:15-16, “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand and it gives light to everything in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify the Father in heaven.”

Jesus is the light. If you want to move through the darkness, you must consume Him and His Word, and allow Him to shine through you.

That is a blessing all by itself and perhaps the blessing in the darkness is for you to be able to rekindle and reignite that relationship with Him. 

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

Psalms 18:28 says, “You, Lord, keep my lamp burning. My God turns my darkness into light.” This is literally saying that 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 won’t bring forth good fruit.

Our darkness, or our valley, is 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. He is molding you. 

NOTE: 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.

So, again, I urge you to be grateful for these moments. To look for the blessing and the lesson because He’s preparing you, purging you, molding you and teaching you to fulfill your ultimate purpose, which is to continuously love Him and to make Him known.

Step 4: Trust the Path

If you’re going through a valley, a dry spell, or in darkness, how do you know if you should keep going or if you should keep up? 

I’ve personally asked myself this question so many times. I know when I hit a valley, I am all of a sudden flooded with every insecurity or doubt I ever face, and it makes me question if this is a sign from God that I need to move? Or is this the enemy trying to deter me? 

How do I know? 

Anything instilling guilt, fear, or shame is from the enemy.

The enemy is going to do his 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 sound mind” If you’re going through a valley and thinking “Do I need to quit?,” it’s important to get to the root of that thought. Why do you think this is? Is it because you think you’re not good at something, feel like an imposter or you’re comparing yourself to others?

What is it? 

If it’s because you feel insecure, that is not from God. 

Step #5: Keep On Walking

It’s so important to remain faithful and 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 to and keep walking despite the lies the enemy is feeding you because it’s not true. They are lies. 

But how do you keep walking? 

You draw closer to Him. You surrender. You see the unseen. And you trust the path. 

If You Loved This And You Know You Are Being Called Cultivate A Holy Spirit Led Business…

And you want to make sure you’re getting the support you need, you’re being held accountable to live out the call He’s placed on your heart, AND you want to do it fueled by your faith and not by your flesh…

Then I want to invite you to just join us inside of the Called to CEO Collective.

The Called to CEO Collective is a community-driven membership for Christian entrepreneurs who believe in the power of claiming their authority in the secret place AND in the marketplace and are ready to stand out and sell out online.

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YES, I said live coaching.

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That said, if you want to learn all the nitty gritty details or go ahead and join us at the current rate, you can do so by heading to www.hannahbrindley.com/membership