Faithfulness in a Season That Looks Unstable

Walking through years of change, transition, and uncertainty taught me that faithfulness doesn’t always look stable or comfortable. In this post, I share biblical insight and personal lessons on trusting God, growing spiritually, and staying anchored in Christ when life feels unfinished.

There are seasons that look steady from the outside, and others that don’t. The last several years have been one of those seasons that probably looked unstable if you were watching from afar. Things shifted a lot. Plans changed more times than I could count. Doors opened, just to close, and some doors slammed right in our face.

But after three years, I’m writing this from a place that feels a little more stable. At least, I think. But really, what is stability anyway?

The Myth of Stability in the Christian Life

You see, faithfulness doesn’t always come wrapped in a perfect little box with a neatly crafted bow. In other words, life isn’t always clear or comfortable. God calls us to trust Him, and trust is rarely learned through explanation alone. Trust is built over time and through being placed in situations that require you to depend on someone else. Think about marriage, you learn to trust your spouse when they say they’ll be home by a certain time each day, and they are. You learn to trust the people around you when they consistently fulfill their word. As you get to know people, trust grows because their character and nature are revealed to you.

Remember the trust falls we all did at summer camp or for school projects? Someone climbs onto a platform, crosses their arms over their chest, and falls backward, trusting that the people below, with locked arms, will catch them. In all of these imperfect scenarios, you don’t get guarantees. You don’t get certainty. You don’t get proof ahead of time.

Faith works the same way. You don’t move forward in what God is calling you to do because you have a play-by-play. You move forward because you trust the nature and character of who He is, and because He has proven Himself trustworthy.

If you had told me back in 2012 that I would marry a man after two weeks of dating him, move more than 26 times, live in four different states, homeschool my kids through depression and anxiety, and experience so much loss in such a short amount of time that it would nearly break me, and that all of this was part of the plan Jesus had for my life, I would have thought you were crazy!

But this is what I’ve learned: faithfulness doesn’t look like comfort. It doesn’t look like knowing all the details. And sometimes, it looks like instability to outsiders looking in.

This season has stretched me. It has challenged me. And it has caused me to grow in ways I never would have expected. While our life has looked unstable to those on the outside looking in, I know I’ve been deeply anchored in the loving arms of my Provider, Jesus Christ.

Here are my top three lessons learned if you find yourself in a season of shifting, discomfort, and uncertainty.

No, you are not failing.
Yes, you are probably exactly where you are supposed to be. 😉

Lesson 1: Faithfulness Is Obedience Without Full Clarity

Throughout the Old Testament, you see a consistent theme: God calls people out to follow Him. The most obvious example is Abraham, the father of faith. Abraham was called away from his home into a land God said He would show him. There was no five-year plan, no timeline, no explanation of what the journey would look like, or even assurance that where God was taking him would be better than where he already was.

And yet, Abraham said yes when God hadn’t fully explained Himself.

If you know Abraham’s story, you know what followed: decades of waiting for a promised child, repeated moves through unfamiliar land, rescuing his nephew Lot, fighting battles, surviving famines, and walking through experiences that made little sense in the moment, yet still choosing to move forward in obedience. Even when that obedience cost him deeply, as it did when he was asked to offer Isaac on the altar.

Reaching the part of your story where you don’t know what’s ahead isn’t a sign that you messed up, were unfaithful, or missed what you were “supposed” to do. Often, it simply means God is taking you further in your walk with Him. He’s leading you into waters where you can’t touch the bottom, where dependence replaces control.

Faithfulness isn’t proven by how much of the plan you understand, but by whether you keep walking with Jesus.

Some people can’t handle these situations. The uncertainty is too uncomfortable, so they retreat back to what feels safe, securing themselves in the boat tied to the dock. But if you want to be stretched, refined, and walk with God the way Abraham did, obedience without full clarity isn’t optional. It’s essential.

Lesson 2: Instability on the Outside Doesn’t Mean You’re Unanchored on the Inside

A person’s life can look chaotic and still be deeply rooted in Christ. Moving often, changing plans, and living in transition doesn’t mean God isn’t present; often, it means He’s actively leading.

I’ve seen this not only in my own life, but throughout Scripture: in the life of Moses, Paul the Apostle, and the Prophets. Modern-day missionaries reflect this pattern as well. These lives share something in common; they are always moving, shaping, doing, and becoming, yet deeply rooted in Christ.

Biblical stability has never been about predictability or comfort. It has always been about who you are anchored in. The anchor isn’t your circumstances; it’s Christ. When you are securely fastened to Him, you can go anywhere and do anything He calls you to.

When we were first called into unknown territory many years ago, I honestly thought I was going to die in the “wilderness.” People around me pressured me to come home. God wouldn’t want you to be this unhappy, they said. But the truth is, God cared more about my transformation in Him than my circumstantial happiness.

He wanted to teach me something better: joy.

Joy isn’t circumstantial. It isn’t fleeting. It’s a steady, spiritual fruit that flows from a life anchored in Jesus, and it allows you to endure all things.

Well-meaning people may tempt you to disobey God out of concern, not realizing that obedience sometimes looks like suffering, waiting, and apparent chaos. That’s why listening to God’s voice is essential. You may desperately want to escape your situation, but it may not be time yet.

So keep pressing in. Dig that anchor deeper. Stay rooted in Scripture, fellowship, prayer, and worship. All seasons do come to an end.

Lesson 3: Growth Often Comes Through Discomfort, Not Resolution

Some seasons don’t resolve by our definition of quickly. Some don’t tie up neatly at all. Things feel unfinished. You sense there’s more to accomplish, or like you were only just beginning something good, when it suddenly feels cut short.

But in every season, our aim isn’t resolution, explanations, or clarity; it’s spiritual growth. God is always at work maturing us into the image of Christ. He uses these seasons to teach patience, endurance, mercy, grace, and long-suffering, and to deepen our knowledge of who He is. These things aren’t produced in ease or clarity; they’re formed in the difficult, uneven, messy parts of life.

Think about running a race. The hardest part isn’t the finish line; it’s the race itself. Every ounce of effort is spent during the run. When you finally cross the finish line, the work is already over. In the same way, as we walk in obedience with God through different seasons, growth doesn’t happen in the resolution; it happens along the way.

This is where faith matures: when obedience continues even without relief or answers.

But when the season does end, we are stronger for it. After living in various parts of the country for more than 6 years, I finally moved back to my home state. At the beginning of those years away, I truly thought I wouldn’t survive. But slowly, I grew, and what once felt unbearable became manageable.

Little did I know that I would leave again. And then again. But each time after that first season, it got easier, not because the moves were simpler, but because my trust in God had grown deeper. I had learned, through experience, that He could be trusted with my life.

In many ways, this is why Abraham is remembered as the father of faith—

not because his life settled quickly after God called him out, but because each step of obedience trained him to trust God more deeply than the last. Over time, he learned that the same God who called him out was faithful to carry him through. That didn’t mean things became easier; it meant his trust grew stronger.

God wants to do this with us, too. He calls us into the unknown, into deep waters and uncharted territory, not to harm us, but to form us, shape us, and make Himself known. He wants us to trust Him with all our hearts.

So if you find yourself in the middle of a season that feels unfinished, unstable, or abruptly ended, or if you’re sensing the Lord calling you to come out, take heart. You are likely standing in the very place where faith is being strengthened, your anchor is digging deeper, and trust is being built for whatever lies ahead in your story.

If you’re walking through a season of uncertainty or transition, you’re not alone. I’d love to hear where you’re learning to trust God right now, share in the comments, or reach out.