Recently in my Bible study group, the leader challenged us to identify our current season based on these definitions: fall (change/uncertainty), winter (grief/loss), spring (new life/hope), and summer (sweet blessings).

We would all like to dwell in sweet summertime when praising God comes naturally. But worship should also be our response in hard seasons. Consider the prophet Habakkuk’s words:

“Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:17-18 NKJV).

Gulp! How do we rejoice in difficult, barren times?

Because God’s “no” today isn’t the end of the story

There are many hard passages in Scripture, and one of them occurs in 2 Samuel 12 where the prophet Gad confronted King David for his sin of adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband. Though David repented, a consequence of his sin was that Bathsheba’s baby became ill—and died. David had pleaded with God through prayer and fasting to spare the child, but when David learned the child had died, what he did next may come as a surprise.

“So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped …” (2 Samuel 12:20).

God did not spare the child as David asked, yet David still worshipped. He explained why. “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me” (2 Samuel 12:22-23).

Yet David still worshipped.

What David recognized is that God’s “no” was not the end of the story. David would see the child again in eternity. What a real comfort this passage has since become to so many parents who have suffered miscarriage, stillbirth, or the loss of a child. As Elisabeth Elliot once said, “God’s story never ends with ashes.”

Because God’s presence remains with us

Loss comes in other shapes as well, including loss of freedom, safety, and health. For Paul and Silas, it came in the painful form of a beating and imprisonment. They had every reason to groan in that Philippian jail, but they chose to worship instead. “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25).

Wow. If my AC goes out or my son wakes up with a fever, praising the Lord is not my first thought. Perhaps it should be. The Bible says that “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:18). Notice that it doesn’t say, “for everything.” No AC in Florida’s heat and a sick toddler are not good things. But even in uncomfortable or challenging situations, we can still worship because God is with us.

Even in uncomfortable or challenging situations, we can still worship because God is with us.

When we do, we become a witness for Jesus, and the world notices. The other prisoners listened to Paul and Silas. Who might be listening to us when we praise God in the middle of our predicaments?

Because God is trustworthy

Another equally deep and often silent pain comes in the form of unmet longings. Hannah and countless women since have experienced the excruciating ache of empty arms. For Hannah, being antagonized by her husband’s other wife made her own barrenness unbearable. The intensity of her complaint to God even made the priest Eli question her soberness! But when she told him of her sorrow, he spoke words of hope to her soul: “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him” (1 Samuel 1:17).

Her response? She trusted in God to answer her prayer, and spoiler, He did. Scripture says that the next day, she and her family “rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord” (1 Samuel 1:19). Hannah’s arms were still empty, but her heart believed God to be trustworthy.

He was then, and He is today.

In what “season” do you find yourself? My challenge to you (and myself) is to worship right where we are and keep our eyes on Jesus. Our season will eventually change, but He remains steadfast and worthy of our praise.