When It’s One Thing After Another

Sometimes it isn’t one catastrophic event.

It’s the accumulation.

An unexpected ER visit.

The washer suddenly stops working.

The car needs repairs.

Childcare is still due.

The kids are melting down.

And then — as if the big things weren’t enough — the doorknob breaks.

Yet all the while you continue working yourselves to the bone.

It’s never just the doorknob.

It’s what it represents.

It’s the feeling of being hit again when you haven’t even caught your breath from the last thing.

And somewhere in the middle of it, you think:

Can we just get one win?

When you’re trying to follow God… and it still feels hard

What makes it heavier sometimes is this:

You’re trying.

You’re praying.

You’re seeking the Lord’s guidance.

You’re making decisions you believe align with Him.

You’re stepping out in obedience.

And yet it doesn’t feel like things are going your way.

There’s a quiet confusion that can creep in:

If I’m listening…

If I’m following…

Why does this still feel like resistance? Or am I not on the right path?

We don’t often say it out loud, but it’s there.

We can subtly begin to believe that obedience should equal ease. That if we’re walking closely with God, the road should smooth out.

But Scripture never promises smooth roads.

It promises that He walks with us on them.

A look at Job

Job was described as righteous. Faithful. Upright.

And yet he lost almost everything.

Not because he disobeyed.

Not because he lacked faith.

Not because he missed God’s leading.

His suffering was not evidence of failure.

It was part of a larger story.

That doesn’t make suffering easy. It doesn’t minimize the ache. But it reminds us that hardship is not proof that God has stepped away.

Sometimes the very fact that we are walking closely with Him is why the refining feels intense.

God’s timing rarely matches our comfort

There are seasons when it feels like everything is pressing at once.

And in those seasons, we want relief. A break.

But God operates outside of our timeline.

Sometimes what we experience now is shaping us for something we cannot yet see. Endurance. Wisdom. Compassion. Dependence.

Sometimes we walk through financial strain so that later, when someone else whispers, “I don’t know how we’re going to make it,” we can look them in the eyes and say, “We’ve been there.”

Sometimes the lesson is for us.

Sometimes the lesson is for someone we will one day encourage.

And sometimes we simply don’t get the full explanation.

Faith in the middle of pressure

In those moments, faith doesn’t look like polished confidence.

It looks like wrestling.

It looks like choosing not to spiral.

Budgeting anyway.

Praying anyway.

Refusing to let fear define the atmosphere of your home.

It looks like saying:

God, I don’t understand this.

But I still trust in You.

Provision doesn’t always arrive wrapped in ease.

Sometimes it arrives as resilience.

Sometimes it arrives as clarity.

Sometimes it arrives as just enough for today.

And sometimes the provision is the strengthening of your marriage under pressure. The steadiness of your heart. The way you don’t let stress fracture what matters most.

Sometimes, maybe God is trying to teach you to let go of your own control and trust Him. Are you truly doing that in these moments and in all moments? Dig deep and look.

Redefining “a win”

When everything feels like it’s working against you, a win may not be dramatic.

Sometimes a win is:

• The bill being paid.

• The repair costing less than expected.

• Peace instead of panic.

• Staying united as a couple.

• Remaining steady for your children.

• Not letting stress turn into resentment.

• Finding joy in the small moments and items

Sometimes the win is invisible.

Sometimes the win is that your faith deepened instead of collapsed.

If you’re in this season

If you are trying to listen to the Lord, trying to follow His guidance, trying to be faithful — and it still feels like resistance — you are not alone.

You are not being punished.

You are not behind.

You are not abandoned.

Hard seasons are not proof of God’s absence.

They are often proof that He is doing deeper work.

Even when the doorknob breaks.

Especially then.