3 Powerful Ways to Be Anchored in Hope During a Difficult and Hard Season
"In trust, you will find acceptance In acceptance, you will find obedience In obedience, you will find the joy of the Lord In the joy of the Lord, you will find strength and peace" The past eight months have been an unexpected journey of faith, hope, and love—a journey I didn't know I was embarking on until it actually began, and even when it did, I still wasn't ready for the truth. I have kept this aspect of my life private due to the sensitivity and privacy of the persons involved. However, I can share that over these past eight months, helping a loved one fight their way through a life-threatening illness has challenged every single aspect of my being.
What has been so profound is seeing how this difficult season is running parallel to the assignment God blessed my heart with for the Choose to Live FREE! Podcast series this year. While I honor and respect the privacy of my loved one during this time, I am also deeply aware of the complex web of emotions that come with a season like this—particularly a season of uncertainty, disorientation and anticipatory grief. I experience these intermittently; they are like waves that rush in, stay for a while and then recede and then they come back again.
I want to share with you what these experiences feel like (the prominent ones are underlined); but, being true to doing the heart work, these feelings are allowed the space and time to exist without allowing them to override what I know to be true. What I know is that these feelings are waves, they are temporary; however, my trust and hope in Christ is permanent. In this season, while I feel all the feels, I choose to honor all that the Holy Spirit shows and teaches me.
So, as you read these definitions and signs, get ready because I do flip the narrative by sharing with you a piece of my essential tools in my warrior toolkit.
1. Anticipatory Grief is the mourning, sadness, or anxiety that occurs before an impending loss or major life transition, rather than after it happens. It is the emotional mind and heart attempting to process the pain of a potential or inevitable loss in advance. Common Signs: Persistent dread or walking on eggshells; emotional fatigue or sudden waves of sadness; hyper-vigilance regarding a loved one's health; guilt surrounding personal moments of joy while a loved one suffers (this one for me is subtle, its more a feeling of "what would others think when I have this deep joy and peace?"); physical exhaustion and mental brain fog.
2. A Season of Uncertainty is the state of living with limited or complete lack of knowledge about the future, where outcomes are unpredictable, information is incomplete, and control is entirely out of your hands. Common Signs: Decision paralysis or constant overthinking; persistent second-guessing of choices; a continuous sense of instability; physical tension or restlessness; difficulty making short- or long-term plans because "everything is up in the air."
3. A Disorienting Season is a profound sense of losing your mental, emotional, physical, financial or spiritual bearings when circumstances shatter your expected timeline, normal routines, or foundational assumptions about how life "should" look. Common Signs: Feeling ungrounded, detached, or floating through your daily routine; feeling out of touch with your normal identity or roles; questioning long-held assumptions; experiencing spiritual fog where God feels quiet or distant; feeling like the terrain beneath your feet is constantly shifting.
I presented my heart to the Lord one early morning as I was getting ready for the day, contemplating what this season is all about. In a brief moment, I sensed in my heart these words "Kate, when in a difficult season, always remember, it may feel like God is breaking your heart, indeed, God did not break your heart, He repaired it." Immediately, I knew... I may feel heartbroken, but deep within my soul, I trust He knows what is happening 'through' me.
When bad news is handed to us—whether directly or indirectly—how we respond as believers is everything. We did not choose the suffering, but we can certainly choose how we respond to it. In the midst of a trial, we must hold fast to this eternal truth:
"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." — 2 Corinthians 4:17–18
While the flesh and body may be going through excruciating discomfort and pain, while emotionally we may tired and worn out, and when our mental strength is waning—all we truly have left is our spirit.
Which brings me to the core question I’ve been asking myself and want to ask you today: Who is your spirit anchored to?
Whoever your spirit is anchored to must be tangible, complete, as solid as a rock, and unshakeable. Because when the storm rages, and the floods surge, we will need ALL of that Person is to fight our way through it all.
We do not need a complex process to navigate difficult seasons; we need a foolproof process that requires an "all in" attitude - Spirit, Soul, and Somatic (body). A process that allows us to be fully present trusting that this temporary difficult season can go one of two ways - leave us broken and bitter, or leave us matured and better. I have chosen the latter - to be matured and better - this means, I have anchored my spirit in the One who is rock steady!
In Hebrews 7:24–26, scripture reveals that the One whom our spirit must be anchored to lives forever:
"But because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens."
In this season of uncertainty, disorientation and anticipatory grief, I’ve been holding on for dear life—eternal life, that is. It is deeply comforting to know that because Jesus lives forever, He is able to save me (and you) completely—not partially, but totally—anyone who comes to Him. Most astonishingly, Jesus lives to do one primary thing for us right now: He lives to intercede for us.
This connects directly to what Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8:26, reminding us that when we don't even have the words to pray, the Spirit Himself groans and intercedes for us according to God's sovereign will. How assuring this is!
This assurance leads us straight into a vital spiritual discipline: the practice of praying without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Jesus is interceding for us, and we are called to stay in continuous, honest conversation with Him. We are in a living relationship with God. While He already knows our deepest longings and yearnings, prayer gives us the opportunity to align our hearts to His sovereign will while keeping our hearts malleable, soft, and ready for His use.
How to Keep Your Heart Aligned to God's Sovereign Will
Hebrews 7:25 tells us: "Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them."
Aligning our hearts with God’s sovereign will is an ongoing posture of trust, humility, and intentional focus. Drawing directly from this verse, here are the three foundational steps to keep your heart aligned, along with practical sub-steps to live them out daily:
1. Come to God Through Christ
We cannot approach God in our own strength, merit, or self-reliance. We come through Jesus—our holy, blameless High Priest. Coming through Him means recognizing that He is our only bridge, our mediator, and our direct line to the Father's throne of grace.
Our sacred practice: surrender personal control to Christ
Scripture: Matthew 11:28–30 — Jesus invites all who are weary and heavy-laden to come to Him to find rest, reminding us to take His yoke upon us and learn from Him.
Do this tangible activity: open-hands prayer. Spend 5–10 minutes in silence holding your hands face-down to symbolize releasing your anxieties, specific outcome preferences, and secular control strategies to God. Then, turn your palms upward to physically signal your readiness to receive His guidance, timing, and peace.
2. Open Your Heart to Be Saved from Sin
Intimacy with God requires clean hands and a pure heart. When trials hit, it is easy for bitterness, anger, or doubt to creep in. Opening your heart to be saved from sin means walking in daily repentance—surrendering your pride, offense, and fear so that sin doesn't cloud your view of God's purpose.
Our sacred practice: renew the mind through Scripture and Truth
Scripture: Romans 12:2 — We are instructed not to conform to the patterns of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds so we can discern God's good, pleasing, and perfect will.
Do this tangible Activity: scripture replacement framing. Identify one area where secular logic, bitterness, or self-reliance is driving your decisions. Write down the worldly perspective on one side of a journal entry, and directly opposite it, write a specific biblical truth that counters it. Memorize or repeat that truth whenever decision fatigue or offense sets in.
3. Converse Openly as He Intercedes for You
Talk to Him! Tell Him your exact worries, raw emotions, physical fatigue, and deep needs. You don't need fancy words; you just need an honest heart. As you pour out your soul, rest in the reality that Jesus is simultaneously taking your prayers and interceding for you before the Father.
Our sacred practice: practice active obedience and faithful stewardship
Scripture: Proverbs 3:5–6 — Trusting in the Lord with all your heart and refusing to rely solely on your own understanding leads to straight paths as you acknowledge Him in all your ways.
Do this tangible activity: The "Next Right Step" audit. When facing a complex decision or heavy trial, write down the ultimate outcome you hope to achieve, then set it aside. Focus exclusively on the single immediate action you can take today in your prayers and choices that aligns with integrity, service, and biblical principles, trusting God to manage the macro-level results.
A Practical Tool: The A-to-Z Prayer List
As part of my intentional practice to be matured and better during this difficult season, I am using the A-to-Z prayer framework. I want to share it with you to help you share your heart candidly with Christ. Be intentional and do this simple practice:
Create an A-to-Z Prayer List in your prayer journal or on a post-it note. For each letter of the alphabet, write down a specific area of your heart you want to share with Jesus or need Him to intercede for:
A: Anger over a situation or diagnosis
B: Busyness or burden of daily responsibilities
C: Career open doors or financial wisdom
D: Doubt or divine direction
...and so on, through Z.
Keep this list in your Bible, and update or create a new one each week as your heart heals, matures and becomes better. Hint: bearing the fruit of the Spirit in increasing measure is a great indicator of such healing, maturity and heart health. The A-to-Z prayer list is a practical, structured way to unload your mind and take every thought captive.
Anchored in the Unshakable
Remember the question: Who is your spirit anchored to?
Hebrews 7:26 guarantees that our Anchor is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. I am so grateful that in the midst of a very hard fight this year, my anchor is not a temporary circumstance, my own mental stamina, or human strength. My anchor is the One who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart, and exalted!
Whatever battle you are walking through, turn your heart toward Jesus in raw, vulnerable prayer. He lives forever, He is interceding for you right now, and He is completely able to hold you fast.
Until Next Time,
Choose to Live FREE!
Kate 💕
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