How to Love God in Every Season  - iBelieve Truth: A Devotional for Women - February 27, 2026

“Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word;  but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful”--Mark 4:19

Various films, plays, books, and television shows often portray stories of friends whose friendships grow deeper during difficult times, such as illness, accidents, loss of loved ones, job loss, natural disasters, relationship losses, and more.

There are also the stories of those who, during times of success and gaining wealth, leave their friends, family, and faith in God behind for social climbing and to enjoy a newfound notoriety.

In life, good and bad times not only affect our relationships with friends and family but also with God, with many people thinking it’s difficult to love God through hard times, when they’re going through self-doubt, pain, grief, loss, and so much more.

Yet many individuals attest that it’s during difficult times that we draw closer to God, because our need for Him seems greater amid life's challenges, and during good times, we can often feel distant from Him.

Circumstances Can Affect Our Faith

There’s a family we know who, when they experience job loss, sorrow, and lack, draws closer to God spiritually. Even though it’s emotionally, physically, and financially challenging for them to go through difficult times, it’s beautiful to see their faith grow and deepen during them.

However, when they begin to prosper and do well career-wise and financially, they start drifting away from seeking after God, instead choosing worldly philosophies and activities to fill their time, which is heartbreaking and sorrowful to witness.

Like many who go through trying times, it seems the hard times they experience are much more beneficial to their relationship with God, and why James 1:2-4 encourages, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

When Good Times Draw Us Away from God 

In observing the family mentioned, along with others who go through both difficulties and prosperity, it seems much more difficult for us to love God in the good times of life’s comforts, when things are good and comfortable.

Possibly, during the good times, we don’t feel the greatest need for God when everything seems incredible and overflowing in our lives.

Jesus talks about how wealth can put a distance between God and us. As He explains in Matthew 19:23, “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.’”

When we have wealth at our fingertips and the sky is the limit in what pleasures we can attain, our need for God often wanes. 

Happiness and ease seem to oppose faith, drawing us away from a close relationship with God to focus on ourselves and the things we love and love to do.

When life is comfortable, it’s easy for us to spend less and less time focused on God because it doesn’t seem we need to depend on Him to meet our needs, since we’re meeting our own.

We become focused on being happy and enjoying the good times in life, such as a new romantic relationship, marriage, a baby, a growing family, a budding career, a new home, a new car, new opportunities, and more. It doesn’t take long for our love for God to grow distant.

Learning the Apostle Paul’s Secret 

We’ll do well to follow the Apostle Paul’s example, as he explains in Philippians 4:11-13 that his contentment and strength come from the Lord at all times, whether he is struggling or prospering. 

“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.”

Like Paul, we can draw closer to God in every situation when we learn his secret of being content in everyone, whether needy or having plenty; hungry or well-fed; living in want or in plenty, because God is our source of strength.

Let’s Pray:

Dear Father, strengthen us to draw closer to You during both life’s hard and good times. Help us to draw closer to You, whether we’re struggling with difficulties or enjoying earthly pleasures. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 Photo credit: @Getty Images/Oleh_Slobodeniuk

Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.

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If you've been feeling tired, overwhelmed, depleted, or just quietly wondering where God is in the middle of a very full life — this episode is for you. And honestly? It might be for me too, because I'm recording this in one of those seasons myself.

Today we're doing something a little different. Instead of going deep in a passage, we're talking about what to do when deep feels like too much — when you need less, not more. Specifically, I'm walking you through one of my favorite practices for weary seasons: handwriting scripture.

Not typing it. Not scrolling past it. Actually writing it out, slowly, in your own hand — because something happens in your brain when you do that. The words land differently. They go deeper. And over time, they become part of that personal library of God's voice that the Holy Spirit can pull from when you need it most. That's what Psalm 119:11 means when it says I have hidden your word in my heart — it's scripture moving into your long-term memory, where it lives and stays even when you haven't opened your Bible in weeks.

I'm sharing the five verses I wrote out for myself today — and why each one hit me fresh even though I've known some of them for years. This episode is part of our How to Study the Bible Podcast, a show that brings life back to reading the Bible and helps you understand even the hardest parts of Scripture. If this episode helps you know and love God more, be sure to follow the How to Study the Bible Podcast on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!