“Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—through the blood of the everlasting covenant, equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Hebrews 13:20-21

In 2019 I wrote a post called, “No Rain, No Flowers,” it was a result of me coming out of a very hard season where I didn’t feel like there had been a lot of direction and then found myself in a place of passion for helping others. As I look at the stats of this blog, I am able to see that this post gets frequent traction and views, almost 6 years later. That makes me feel old, but more importantly, it shows that the heart of that writing still rings true to people today.

When I wrote it, I had come from a place where I didn’t feel valued and needed to remind myself that God determines my worth, not people.

We are created and made by God, loved more than anything, and anyone that tells you the opposite is a liar.

Life will throw many things our way, but much like the flowers of a field, without the rain from storms, no life will grow.

I’ve been living in a season where I have been tired, burnt out, and trying to keep things growing, and it could be easy to lose sight of the calling that God has placed in my heart because of the environment I am in. I was reminded of this Scripture, where I am reminded that Christ has equipped me with exactly what I need to do good works that I have been called to. I so easily try to take everything on myself, and forget that my own strength isn’t enough, I need to be relying on the Holy Spirit to lift the weight.

In Christ, we have all that we need.

I see now that we will always go through seasons, and some of those seasons bring with it a great deal of storms, but they always end and lead into the next season. The hard parts of life remind us of what is truly important to us, and sometimes remind us that we may need to leave a room if we are not welcome.

We screw up and make mistakes, but we don’t have to let that define us.

Some people treat us the way they perceive us, but we don’t have to let that define us either.

I had a conversation recently, and there was talk about passion, asking if I was really passionate about ministry because they didn’t see that I was. At first that was frustrating, but the truth is, they perceived me as lacking passion because I wasn’t acting the way they wanted me to. I am passionate about discipling others and loving people well, so never tell me that I’m no because I don’t fit the mold you want.

This also means that I need to be careful about not forcing others to fit a mold. We all are unique, made by God with a purpose, so let’s make sure we see that image and value others because of it.

In that original post, I had reflected on circumstances that are very reminiscent of where I am now, which is both scary and encouraging. Scary, because it feels like this cycle of unknown and questioning what’s next is happening again. It is also encouraging, because I am able to reflect on how God has brought me to safety before, and He will do it again.

When we remind ourselves that God is with us and equipping us, we embrace the rain, because we know new life will sprout soon.

This has been a bit of a rambling post, so thanks for sticking with me, but I think it’s important to look back and look ahead. To understand that the hard parts of life make way for new, beautiful opportunities to watch God move.

As this Spring season has begun, dear Danielle and I have gotten the bug to plant and garden. We’ve been preparing soil, sowing seeds, and now we water and let the rain begin to cultivate new life. We get to do it right with our sweet Violet, watching her play and run around the yard. This past year has been a difficult one where I was learning a lot about being a parent, and holding a ministry together by myself for a majority of the year, and even in that exhaustion, I see God making a way for something new.

I don’t know what that means or will look like, but I don’t need to worry, I just need to trust God in the midst of the hard things. After all, no rain, no flowers.

-Your pastor and friend, Joshua.

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About the Author: Joshua Thomas is a husband, father, and pastor doing what he can to love others the way Jesus did. You can find him reading a good book, sipping warm tea, taking pictures, or dreaming. He may not have it all figured out, but the journey is the best part. You can find him on the only social media he uses, Bluesky and Instagram