#414 Staying empowered through seasons of isolation and desolation: How to Trust God During Life’s Toughest Moments

#414: Staying Empowered Through the Season of Isolation and Desolation

This is the day that the Lord has made! Let us be glad and rejoice. Rise up, powerful beings, and welcome to another episode of Ed Talks Daily. Today, I'm talking about staying empowered through a season of isolation and desolation.

There are times in life when we really need to take a step back, work on ourselves, and reflect. Sometimes, we’re not as active. Maybe the summertime friends aren't around as much, or the activities you used to enjoy aren’t happening. This could be because of the actual season, or it could be a season in your life. For some, it may feel like this season has lasted for quite a while.

Today, we’re diving into how to stay empowered during a season of isolation or desolation, or perhaps both. We'll explore these concepts and how to maintain your power through them.

What Is Isolation and Desolation?

Isolation is when you’re physically or emotionally separated or set apart from others. Desolation, on the other hand, refers to a state of emptiness—feeling barren, abandoned, or even devastated.

Let’s dig deeper into these ideas and discuss how to stay empowered through seasons of isolation and desolation.

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Staying Empowered in Isolation and Desolation

Thank you to everyone joining me for another episode. I’m your host, The Holistic Motivator, and today we’re discussing how to stay empowered during a season of isolation and desolation.

Many of us experience times when we feel like we’ve got a strong support system—people around us who walk with us through life. But there are also seasons when it feels like we have nobody.

When we base our support system solely on the people around us, we make ourselves vulnerable to feeling alone. What I’ve learned is that your support system shouldn’t be limited to people. It should be rooted in God and the power of the Holy Spirit.

When God is at the center of your support system, even in isolation, you’re never truly alone. God walks with you through the wilderness, and you won’t create false idols out of people or things just because you’re not “hearing” from God in the way you expect. Many of us feel like God is silent, but in reality, it’s often that we’re not hearing what He’s already saying. We may want God to say something we want to hear, and that’s why it feels like He’s silent.

We all experience seasons in our lives where we go through periods of isolation. Many people struggle to make the most of those moments when they are alone. Sometimes, if you really think about it, you've been asking God for this opportunity.

Let me explain what I mean. Some of you have been feeling overwhelmed, like everyone around you is constantly pulling from you. You're always the strong one, the one people turn to, and you’ve been craving some time for yourself. But when you finally get that answered prayer—when those calls stop coming—you start to question your value. You don’t realize that God has given you this time to focus on yourself.

You might wonder, “Why aren't they checking on me?” The truth is, they were never really checking on you. They were always taking from you. Now, God is checking on you, refining you, and preparing you for better circles. You might say, "But I love them!" Yet, sometimes the people you love don’t love you back in the same way.

Even in relationships—whether with friends or partners—you may be attached to people for reasons that aren’t always mutual. We’ve all been in relationships where we semi-liked someone but weren’t fully invested. Sometimes, it’s about what we’re getting from the other person, not true love or connection.

What we must realize is that God is always in your life for you. When certain people aren’t around for a season, it’s not a sign to run back to them and restart the cycle. Sometimes, the break in that relationship is a sign that it's time to work on yourself, to refocus and get aligned with God.

Recently, I said something that might sound simple but is much deeper: If you take the time to heal and get underneath the covering of God instead of getting under another person, you’ll be better prepared when God sends someone into your life. I even joked that you might meet your future partner by Christmas. But here’s the thing—during “cuffing season,” many people rush to find someone to keep them warm instead of allowing God to work on them.

Sometimes we can break cycles by being patient, longer than we’re used to. The issue isn’t that our prayers are unanswered; it’s that we answer our own prayers and end up repeating the same cycles. We make decisions for God instead of waiting on Him, and that’s where the cycle keeps reopening.

One of the best ways to hear God is to stop trying to do everything by yourself and actually listen to Him. Too often, there are too many voices in our heads—other people's opinions, our thoughts about past relationships, or how others have treated us. You can’t fully engage in your relationship with God if your mind is cluttered with these things.

We live in a culture where there’s always noise around us. We struggle to find peace in the simplicity of silence. We always want to put something in our ears, watch something, or seek some form of stimulation. This habit can make it hard to hear God or discern what’s next in your life.

Isolation is not desolation. You may feel separated from certain people or environments, but that doesn’t mean you’re empty. Sometimes what you’re feeling isn’t emptiness, but the beginning of truly feeling your own emotions.

Let me clarify: it’s not that you feel empty; it's that you're finally allowing yourself to feel what you should have felt all along but never did because you were always focused on other distractions. Sometimes it’s meaningless conversations, like gossip about celebrities that doesn’t matter in your life. But when you face the deeper issues, you start to realize what’s truly going on within you.

When the presence of God starts to fill you, you’ll notice things about yourself that you weren’t aware of before. In common terms, this is called self-awareness, but in truth, it’s the Holy Spirit revealing things to you. I call these revelations. These revelations come in those quiet, dark moments—the light begins to shine on different parts of you that you didn’t even know existed because you’ve finally detached from the noise.

You don’t realize that sometimes you haven’t been receiving love from the true source—God. Instead, you’ve been seeking love in doses from relationships that are often one-sided. You’ve become attached to things or people that distract you from God’s love. Isolation feels like a loss because you’ve been relying on these attachments. But God is showing you how to not depend on them for your identity.

I went through a season in my life where everything I gained at a young age—around 19 or 20—was suddenly lost. It was during that time that I began to understand the true essence of life. It’s in these seasons of isolation that we start to appreciate the things we once took for granted.

When you’re isolated, you start to realize the importance of the things you might have overlooked. You also begin to learn what it means to be fully under the presence of God.

How Do You Stay Empowered in Isolation?

One of the things the Lord says is to meditate on His Word. Sitting still is important for hearing Him, but we must sit still and know that God is God. When we sit with God’s Word in our hearts, minds, and thoughts, we can begin to feel the peace of His presence.

As it says in Psalm 46:1-3, "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging."

In moments of silence, when we meditate on God’s promises, we are reminded of His strength. Some people are uncomfortable with the word "meditate," but the Bible itself tells us to meditate on God's Word. Many think meditation means just praying aloud, constantly speaking, but do you ever sit and listen?

Often, we say we’re meditating on God’s Word, but instead, we’re meditating on our problems. We repeat the same troubling thoughts, over and over, without focusing on God’s promises. But when we have God's promises written on our hearts, as it says in Psalm 119:11, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you," our words begin to reflect life, even in the midst of challenges.

When we face tough situations, the promises of God should flow from our mouths: "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10).

Knowing that God is with you—even when others are not—gives you strength. This is why isolation is necessary sometimes. Many people search for a father figure in their lives, but they may look to people who do not have God as their Father. As a result, these people cannot offer what a father should, according to the Word of God.

The most important Father figure we have is our Heavenly Father, Abba. He provides assurance that we are protected, loved, heard, and guided. This is why our foundation must always be in God. He is the one who sees us through periods of isolation, preventing them from turning into desolation. His Word reminds us, "Do not fear, for I am with you" (Isaiah 41:10).

Aloneness Does Not Mean Loneliness

Some might wonder, "How can someone be alone and still be happy?" That’s because they aren’t truly alone—they are one with the One.

Aloneness does not mean loneliness. Someone may appear to be alone, but they are actually whole because they are complete in the Lord. When you are complete in the Lord during your season of singleness, that’s what creates wholeness, which allows two whole people to come together in unity.

Many think that two halves make a whole, but the Bible teaches us to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28). It’s not about addition; it’s about multiplication. One whole person multiplied by another whole person equals one. It’s not 1 + 1 = 2, but rather 1 × 1 = 1 in God’s eyes.

Wholeness doesn’t mean being perfect. It means finding your completeness in Christ, who fills in your flaws. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’" In Christ, we are made whole, despite our challenges, pain, or trauma. Wholeness is found in the Lord, not in other people or worldly attachments.

Whatever part of you feels inadequate, whatever parts need to be worked on, the Lord makes you whole. As it says in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

When we talk about healing, we must understand that the Bible and healing go hand in hand. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says, "Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." Let this be your affirmation: "Inwardly, I am being renewed day by day." Affirm it with authority and declare it over your life. It's not just about saying, "I am beautiful." It’s about affirming the Word of God in your spirit.

The scripture continues, "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." Our troubles are momentary, but they are working for us something much greater in the eternal realm. That's why we must fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.

When we fix our eyes on what is seen—on our problems, challenges, or circumstances—it blinds us to the unseen, which blocks us from seeing beyond our situation. But the Bible tells us that what is seen is temporary, while what is unseen is eternal.

During periods of isolation, when God is working on you, He reveals to you the unseen. While others may look at the outward results of what you’re going through and think that it’s not working out, they don’t know that the story is still being written in the background by the Director of your life. It is written.

What you know to be true in the Spirit may not manifest immediately in the flesh, but it is still true. This is where faith stems from. If your faith is only active when you see the results, you're not seeing inwardly what you need to continue believing. Faith is about seeing through what you don’t yet see. It’s having vision.

You look at your situation and say, "I am more than a conqueror" (Romans 8:37). You declare, "All things are working together for my good" (Romans 8:28). And that declaration allows you not to focus on the circumstances but instead to speak life into them. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks life, and as you speak more life, death must flee. You are empowered by the spirit of expectancy based on the promises of God.

Even when it’s painful, you have peace that comes from the unseen, the eternal peace of God. As the Word says, "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me" (Psalm 23:4). It doesn’t say, "because your boyfriend is with you" or "because your friend is with you." It says, "For the Good Shepherd is with me. His rod and His staff, they comfort me."

When you find your comfort in the Lord, it makes everything in the physical world extra. You are content with or without it because you have an eternal comfort from God.

Romans 8:38-39 assures us, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Isolation may feel like separation, but nothing—no circumstances, no relationships, no powers—can separate you from the love of God.

This is why we fix our eyes on God. Building that relationship with God brings about fruitful companionship and fellowship. It stops you from operating out of trauma or past wounds. You no longer have to bond with others through shared pain because now, the eternal, unseen truths of God are the primary drivers of your life.

Many people are still living by unseen things, but these unseen things are often subconscious scripts based on past traumas or experiences. When we talk about living in the Spirit, we’re talking about fixing our focus on the unseen truths of God rather than the unseen lies of the past.

What I mean by this isn’t just relating to scripture but to things in your life that you may not even realize you’re living out to this day, based on your childhood. Isolation is a time when God reveals these things to you, so you can heal from them. Every day, inwardly, you need to be renewed by the Lord. As Romans 12:2 says, "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Every single day, you have to walk with the Word of God on your lips, saying, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). This moment is not going to break you.

You must make God the priority, the pillar of your life, renewing and transforming yourself daily. Don’t create idols because of impatience, as the children of Israel did. Let fear not make you forget what God has already done—the oceans He has parted in your life, the supernatural ways He’s delivered you. Don’t let chaos or calamity cause you to curse God. Instead, say, "The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21). We need to talk faith. Can someone say, "I’m talking faith talk"? We’re not talking fear talk. The more we speak faith, the more faith speaks back to us. And faith, even through the unseen, builds up what is meant to grow, while fear breaks down and destroys through unresolved fear and abandonment.

If you operate out of the fear of people leaving, you will repel the right people. Sometimes, because of fear, your heart becomes closed. You assume people will leave, so you never let them in. As a result, they do leave. Worse, you attract those who are meant to leave, instead of building a firm identity rooted in God. Rest assured in the Lord, whether people leave or stay. That identity will attract those meant to stay.

This is faith talk: "Who God has for me, God has for me." Your value isn’t dependent on who’s in your life but on God being the head of your life. If God is your foundation, you’re good regardless of who comes or goes. The Bible says, "The head of the woman is man, and the head of man is Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:3), but Christ is the head of both man and woman. So, Christ is always your leader. Look to Him more than you look at your circumstances.

When you see how God sees you and how He loves you, you’ll attract someone who loves God the same way. It creates a continuous flow of love, starting from the love of God and flowing through you to others. You won’t shut yourself down to be accepted by someone else. Instead, you’ll reveal everything God has put in you because He didn’t create you to shrink; He created you to grow. When you operate in God’s authority, nothing from your past can dictate how you move forward. You heal because you see yourself as God sees you—valuable in His eyes, as a child of God.

When we embrace God as our Father, He becomes our teacher, showing us how to love. He is the one who holds us together, our Shepherd, our Comforter. He keeps us warm in the cold wilderness. God gives us the space and grace to change. In Him, we find refuge. This is how we stay empowered in isolation, avoiding desolation. We let God be the source of our power. When God is your source, you remain empowered, sheltered under the covering of the Most High God.

This has been another episode of Ed Talks Daily. Thank you for tapping into this message. Remember to seek after God more and more in each season. We’re doing this every day—every single day. Stay empowered, stay under God’s covering, and I will see you in the next episode of Ed Talks Daily. Be blessed, stay empowered, and may God continue to bless you.

Much love. Peace.