One of the biggest lies we constantly believe is our current situation is forever. It’s not. It’s a season. Whatever you’re struggling with, you don’t have to endure it forever. Unless you choose to. Here’s an example.

For those of you who don’t live in the Washington DC area, Interstate 95 is a giant parking lot where everyone idles their vehicles for an hour or two going to and from work. It’s probably the single largest cause of stress in this region. According to US News and World Report, DC has the second worst traffic in the country, after LA. Not having to commute is a huge win.

I vowed to myself early in my career that I’d never commute. I was successful until 2012, when the small company I worked for got bought out and shut down. I had to take what I could get, which meant a job with a big company 40 miles away, up I-95. Translation: Hour and a half in the morning, two hours or more in the afternoon.

After a year, I started taking a vanpool which cut it down to 40 minutes one-way because the van took the HOT lanes (reversible toll lanes in the middle of the interstate by-passing the traffic parked in the non-toll lanes).

But that meant getting up at 3:30 AM to catch the commuter van. I’d get 5 or 6 hours sleep and prop myself up on artificial stimulants (coffee) at work. Then I’d catch-up on my sleep on the weekends as much as I could. Not a healthy lifestyle.

Every couple years, I’d pop my resume out on the Internet and see if I could find anything where I didn’t have to commute. I noticed new construction and drive around getting names and addresses of companies in my industry with local offices. I’d get on their websites and apply for positions that were great matches. And each time, I’d just hear crickets. It wasn’t God’s timing.

One day, an external thought just popped into my head about how much I’m paying to commute. I’ve walked with the Lord long enough to recognize the Holy Spirit, so I put my resume out there again. And this time, I was flooded with responses. I was able to find a small company with a site 20 minutes from my house. Finally!

Why now? I don’t know. That was just God’s timing. Time for that season to end, and a new, healthier season to begin. The funny thing is, I was able to land my new position largely because of a new technology I’d learned over the last year with that other company. It’s like God had me there for a reason. Go figure.

The point is, whatever most of us are going through, it’s not permanent. It’s temporary. It’s a season.

But wait a minute, Dave! What about someone with an autistic child or quadriplegic loved one they care for? That’s pretty permanent! Yes, unless God intervenes, that’s permanent. But even in that, there will be seasons. There will be seasons where it’s unbearably hard, and other seasons where there’s an abundance of grace for it. No matter what your struggle, God will meet you there in the middle of it, in the person of Jesus.

And even with something life long, remember life itself is just a season. We Christians take a much longer view. If you drew an infinite line to represent the eternity of your existence, then the first inch is your life here on this planet. The Bible says we get eternal rewards for what we temporarily suffer through in this life. That’s so not fair! God has so stacked the deck in our favor!

So how do we do this?

There’s one major difference between those who make it through and those who don’t. Those who don’t make it do this one thing that those who make it don’t do. Avoid this one thing, and you’ll make it through. What is it? Drum roll please… the one thing that people who don’t make it do is…

Quit.

That’s why they didn’t make it. So how do you not quit? Here’s 3 major ways to not quit.

1) Intimacy with Jesus

Whatever your struggle, he wants to walk it with you. Daily intimacy with Jesus, our lover-king, gives us the strength and the wit and the wisdom and the humor to make it through today.  Which brings us to point 2:

2) Just Do Today

Today itself is a season. You will never have enough strength to make it for the whole season all at once. And that’s why it can get so discouraging. We look at the enormity of what we’re going through, and we think, “I don’t have the strength for all of this!” But we do; just not all at once.

We don’t need the strength to make it through the whole thing today, at this moment. Today, we just need the strength to make through today. That’s how it works. Through intimacy with him, God gives us the strength for that day. And when we look back, we’ll be amazed that we did make it through that whole thing, one day at a time.

3) Find Support

Find people (yes, they’re out there) who’ll support you. They can’t fix it, but they can be there with you in it. Lone Ranger Christians aren’t Biblical. God created us to be in community. We desperately need each other.

Churches are great places to get support. So are therapists (everyone needs help once in a while, there’s no shame in that.) Maybe healthy family members or friends. You can even google support groups for people going through what you’re going through. And if you can’t find anyone, email us. Janet and I will support you.

So what do you think?

Do you have support? What season are you in? Have you had a season you thought was forever and then ended up being really short? Have tough seasons let you help others through tough seasons? Tell us your thoughts in the comments, and please share on social media if this would help someone else.