How to Navigate Seasons of Disappointment and Uncertainty
Hope in Times of Waiting
In this article, authors Janet Abadir, Chris Russo, and Eric Mattie come together to address uncertainty and crisis at various stages of life. Each shares their insights, offering unique perspectives, and is praying that God will minister His love and grace in your situation.
Chris and Eric met with Janet on her podcast, Drink From the River of Delight, to discuss the seasons of waiting in the midst of uncertainty. Don’t miss this conversation and what God did. Catch their conversation here:
You can find links to related articles throughout this text or in the notes at the end.
Flourishing in the In-Between Spaces
“You’re out of the game!”
Have you ever been taken out of something against your will? Maybe it was a job, or a sports team, or a relationship. Suddenly, it’s over. You are off the team. You are out of a job. You are on your own.
It’s a sinking feeling. It’s lonely. It’s heartache. Regret keeps surfacing, and all the questions. What did I do? How could I have done better? What is next for me? Will I ever find another opportunity like that one?
Identity is shaken, priorities must be redefined, and daily life is disrupted. This has been my season for almost two years.
Seasons of transition are hard because they are unpredictable. Old goals are gone, and new goals may not be clear. Performance evaluation criteria have changed. Relationships can be in flux, and the ones that stick around may be strained. Waiting is hard when you can’t know when the endpoint will come, or what it will even look like.
Liminal space is the space between two seasons, as if someone were crossing a threshold—not in one room, not fully in the next, but maybe in a hallway.
describes it beautifully in his book, The Listening Life. “The liminal place is the in-between, the tightrope walk between two cliffs, suspended in midair. Pain has taken them out of their previously comfortable place, but they have not yet reached a new resting point. They can’t turn back. We don’t know how long this harrowing journey will take, nor where it will lead them. We can’t see the other side. That is why the most authentic conversations are the ones that can go unresolved” (pages 166-167).There is a way to flourish in the in-between space of unknowns. It’s finding joy and contentment1, even in the wilderness season2. The key is having an eternal perspective on your life. Want an inheritance? Want security? Want eternal glory? Want to be loved and accepted in community?
It’s all yours in Christ3. Jesus gave it all up to save you, and you receive it all as a gift of grace. What a priceless gift! Be astounded at His generosity and self-sacrifice for your sake. When He asks you to give up something for others (like comfort, security, or predictability), you will eagerly do it when you see Him giving up everything for you.
The only eyes that matter in the whole universe are looking at you in love and kindness and care. Remember that Jesus was crucified in darkness and abandonment so that you can receive the light and loving gaze of the Father for eternity. You may feel like your hands are empty, but you hold Christ, and He holds you, and that is enough.
I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD. Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!
Psalm 40:1-4
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God in the Middle of My Quarter-Life Crisis
For those I haven’t had the chance to connect with, my name is Chris Russo, and I serve as the lead pastor of Riverland Church in Summerville, SC. My wife, Abbi, is a professional counselor, and we’ve been married for 18 years. We have three amazing sons—Isaac (15), Jonathan (13), and Samuel (9).
I just turned 43, but I’m writing today about something that happened much earlier in life: the quarter-life crisis. Everyone’s experience is different, but I think it’s completely normal.
When you’re growing up, most of your decisions are made for you. If you’re anything like me, you assume the next step after high school is college. I believed that if I got my four-year degree, a good job would be waiting for me on the other side.
At the College of Charleston, I had more freedom than ever before, but it still felt a lot like high school. I chose political science as my major because it seemed interesting, but truthfully, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. During that time, something life-changing happened—I became a Christian my freshman year. That shifted my priorities dramatically. While I kept a respectable GPA, my studies weren’t my main focus anymore; learning what it meant to follow Jesus was.
After graduation, something unexpected happened that softened the edges of my quarter-life crisis. I joined the staff at Seacoast Church just a few months after college and ended up serving there for 18 years. That’s not the experience most people have, so let me reflect for a moment on the challenges of that season and what I think many others face in their twenties.
In my 20s, people loved to talk about my potential—and I appreciated that. But behind all the conferences and pep talks, I adopted some ideas that weren’t entirely helpful. I started to see life as a kind of buffet—if I could imagine it, I could have it. That mindset isn’t all bad, but looking back, I wish I had balanced my optimism with a little realism. Dreams are great, but they don’t pay the bills, and if they never move beyond the dream stage, that’s all they’ll ever be.
The truth is, our school system unintentionally sets a lot of young adults up for confusion. After 13 years of school and four years of college, I had come to think of life as an elevator—you just pick your floor, press the button, and the system takes you there. But real life doesn’t work like that.
So many young adults hit their mid-20s with a degree that doesn’t guarantee anything and a growing sense of panic:
“I spent all these years in school preparing for a future that doesn’t seem to exist. Now I’m in a job I don’t love, doing something unrelated to my major, and the piece of paper I earned doesn’t seem to mean much.”
Maybe that sounds familiar. Or maybe it describes someone you know.
Not to sound cliché, but the most powerful antidote to a quarter-life crisis is a growing relationship with the God of the universe. Jesus lived a sinless life and died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. Three days later, He rose again to make a way for us to have a relationship with a God who loves us deeply.
If you’ve never given your heart to Christ, I encourage you to pause and invite Him in. It’s the most important decision you’ll ever make.
From that relationship flows the guidance, peace, and direction we desperately need. God promises never to leave or forsake us, and He leads us as we seek His will. Those truths sustained me through my own quarter-life crisis. Even when the future felt uncertain, I knew the One who held it wasn’t.
I’m not saying it was easy, but those biblical truths4 kept me grounded when a million voices were competing for my attention. Looking back now, I see my 20s not as a time of regret but as a season of growth—one that God used to prepare me for where I am today.
What is God Doing?
“If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind? Why have you made me your mark? Why have I become a burden to you?” Job 7:20 (ESV)
After enduring the loss of his property, children, and now his health, Job answers at length to Eliphaz’s opening comments. He reaches a point where his feelings of sorrow and pain start to turn towards God.
Have you ever felt like Job? Wondering what God is doing to you? Where is God in your life?
In the vexation of his heart, Job feels God has targeted his life. Pain, loss, affliction, failure, and condemnation can contribute to the feeling that God is treating us differently.
The Bible lovingly instructs us to consider the trials we go through joyfully. This approach calls for a radical reorientation of our worldview of pain and the problems we encounter. (See James 1:2-4). Trust me, I get the rub here. It’s hard to smile in suffering. We can think, “Why does the work of God have to include pain and failure in my life?”
I don’t fully know. But it sure does get our attention.
Yet we are never to confuse God’s pruning of us with God picking on us.
John 15:1-4 Jesus gives a word picture explaining that God the Father “cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”
The Lord may be pruning our dependence on ourselves by rousing our spirits to pray and walk in greater dependence. When we are being stripped in such a way, we only have the Lord’s strength and saving grace. We humbly realize we cannot save ourselves.
Embracing the present moment with humility is essential. God is likely at work in ways that no article, book, or study can fully explain. It can be difficult and painful. Moment by moment, God works through the personal presence of the Holy Spirit in times of great need.
Take heart, fellow believers, God does not target us for sinister reasons. Whatever crisis or problems you’re going through includes a matrix of reasons for why God has allowed it in your life.
Take heed. A broken world and its devil will lie to you about the role of the problem and pain’s place and purpose in your life. Stand on God’s truth5 and what he says about you and His acceptance of you in Christ.
God’s mighty hand is larger, stronger, and more stable than our fickle thoughts about God. Submit to what he is doing and follow His Word. Return to the Scriptures today. Don’t neglect that. Know that God hears your cry. He carefully prunes us, just as he wisely guides us and sovereignly keeps us. Us - His children!
Remember that the work the Lord has started in your life will be brought to a glorious finish to exalt His Name and will be for your ultimate good.
Conclusion
Psalm 16:11 says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
The works of the Lord during the in-between spaces and the life crises we encounter are the way in which He shows us the path of life. It is the method in which He patiently brings clarity. This verse lovingly reminds us of the joy and pleasures we can experience when we stand in these places in the stillness of God's presence. We can stand on the fullness and forever Rock, who is the Lord or God. It is he who secures our feet in these seasons while moving us6 into the next step or the next chapter.
For He is the Author of it.
 | A guest post by
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Wow, great illustrations about transition times. Psalm 40 is a favorite - it is so deep talking about God's character. And I have been in the pit where it's hard to see the Light. We can cling to God when we are in the middle of trials. I don't understand the whole big picture, but I am part of God's story and there is more He's writing on my heart and soul.