Do you live in a country with four seasons? Where are you living as you read this? For most of my life, I lived in Hong Kong where winters are milder and summers are hotter.

A few years ago, I moved to Toronto, Canada, and quickly realized that I am not someone who embraces winter. The first snow was a beautiful sight, gently covering the ground, and waking up to a pristine white landscape filled me with awe. I marveled at the soft snowflakes brushing my face, admiring their unique designs and patterns. However, as winter stretched from mid-September to late May, my initial wonder turned to despair. I began to question everything—my security, my location, my purpose, and my abilities. My emotions were in disarray, tangled in a web of despair and anxieities, leaving me feeling utterly lost and overwhelmed. The bitter winter days felt endless, and though the sun shone, it provided no warmth.

Have you ever felt a disconnect between what you believe and what you experience? I know God doesn’t make mistakes, and His plan for me included that season in Canada. One day, during my quiet time, I sensed He wanted me to rely completely on Him because He is sovereign over all. I learned to “let go, and let God be God,” trusting Him through this season of disconnect, no matter how hard and unpleasant it was. I turned to God daily, and He faithfully carried me through all the highs and lows of my time in Canada.

I am writing and sharing my experience with you, fellow Christians who take God at His word and seek His face daily. Yet, at some point in our journey of faith, we can feel that disconnection for different reasons. Here are some thoughts I have gathered from my experience:

• God often uses seasons of disconnection to teach us deeper truths that we otherwise cannot learn.
• God invites us to an intimacy of trust to bring us closer to Him and out of our disconnectedness.
• God speaks to us in our seasons of disconnectedness, and our ears are more inclined and prepared to listen to Him.
• God does not make mistakes and He is not confused. He will put things in order and back into perspective for us. In other words, He will make a way where there isn’t one and open a window when all doors seem closed.
• Though the experience is tough and unrelenting, it builds our faith and takes it to a whole new level.
• This experience of disconnectedness strengthens and matures us. “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” (Heb. 5:14).
• After experiencing God’s grace and His unfailing love, we learn to encourage and spur one another on—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

If you are experiencing a season of disconnectedness, don’t give up yet! God is near, He is just a prayer away.

Dear God,

I may not be feeling Your presence, and at times I feel far from You or struggle to connect with You. I pray that I will feel Your touch today as I seek Your face. Please reveal Yourself to me in a whole new way. Open my eyes to see, my ears to hear, and my heart to conceive what You have prepared for me because You love me. Let my spirit once again feel that beautiful connection to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.