How to Stay Spiritually Strong When Life Is Heavy | DAY 5 DEVOTIONAL | How to Reflect, Strengthen, and Move Forward

As we come to the close of this week, it is important to pause and reflect. We’ve been getting real. We’ve been talking about heavy seasons, tough times, and the realities of walking by faith when life doesn’t lighten up right away.

These heavy seasons often push us to move quickly, we make rash decisions that we often regret.

Why? Because we need to survive, to cope, to endure.

Having said that and realising our position, we must now be reassured or come to the point where we must do some reflection. Because reflection allows us to recognise what God has been doing beneath the surface. The pruning, the lessons, and the growth that may not have been obvious in the moment.

Spiritual strength, Family, is built in the struggle and clarified when we look back and acknowledge God’s faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22–23 NLT: “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”

This scripture reminds us that God’s mercy does not run out during hardship. Even in seasons marked by loss and grief, God’s compassion renews daily. 

When we take some time to reflect, look back, we see that we are still standing not because life became easier, but because God remained faithful. Hallelujah.

Hebrews 12:11 NLT “No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.”

Now here’s another important truth. Hardly anybody likes to be disciplined, punished, or told that they are wrong. That’s often not a pleasant conversation. However, in hindsight, looking back, we can all see where correction from the right, well-meaning source produced growth, maturity, and righteousness over time. Can anybody testify? Let’s be real.

Hebrews 12:11 teaches us that strength is often forged through discomfort. What feels heavy today may later become the very place where wisdom, endurance, and clarity are formed.

We see this clearly in the life of Naomi.

In Ruth 1, Naomi returns to Bethlehem, grieving the loss of her husband and sons. She thought her life had been emptied. Yet as the story unfolded, God quietly restored her through Ruth’s faithfulness and obedience. 

Naomi’s reflection shifted over time, from bitterness to recognition of God’s provision. Her story reminds us that reflection often reveals blessings we could not see while we were in pain.

We also see growth through discipline in the life of Peter.

After denying Jesus in Luke 22, Peter experiences deep failure and sorrow. Yet Jesus restores him in John 21, not by ignoring the failure, but by strengthening Peter through accountability and renewed calling. Peter’s later leadership shows that discipline and correction, when received humbly, can become a pathway to purpose.

What can we learn from these two examples? It is this: moving forward does not mean forgetting the pain; it means allowing God to redeem it. Reflection helps us see where God has sustained us. Discipline strengthens us where we were once weak. And faith allows us to move forward with greater maturity.

We can apply these principles to our lives Family.

Reflecting may involve acknowledging lessons learned, recognising growth that happened quietly, or thanking God for the strength that carried us through when we felt depleted, like this was the end. 

Scriptures such as Psalm 66:10–12 AMP remind us that testing refines us, not destroys us. 

It says: “For You have tested us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined. You brought us into the net; You laid a heavy burden [of servitude] on us. You made men (charioteers) ride over our heads [in defeat]; We went through fire and through water, Yet You brought us out into a [broad] place of abundance [to be refreshed].”

As this series concludes, Family, How to Stay Spiritually Strong When Life Is Heavy, remember this: spiritual strength is not proven by how quickly we recover, but by how faithfully we continue. 

God’s mercy meets us daily, His discipline shapes us lovingly, and His purpose carries us forward.

When life feels heavy, reflection strengthens perspective, discipline produces growth, and trust allows us to move forward, steadied by God’s faithfulness. 

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