“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Pr 4:23).
We are continuing to reflect on John Flavel’s work, Keeping the Heart, in which he offers practical counsel for guarding the heart through various seasons of life. Today, we turn our attention to how we can keep the heart during a season of outward need.
By “season of need,” I mean those times when life presses in with material or physical lack. It may be a time of financial strain, when income does not cover expenses. It may be a period of failing health, when strength wanes and even simple tasks become difficult. It may be a season of unexpected loss—the loss of a job, of security, or of familiar comforts. Whatever the details, a season of need is any time when something we once took for granted is reduced or removed.
These times test the heart in ways few others do. Anxiety, discouragement, envy, and even unbelief can creep in if we are not watchful. The temptation is strong to measure God’s goodness by our present comfort or to doubt His care when provision feels scarce. Yet Flavel reminds us that it is especially in these seasons that we must be diligent to guard our hearts.
Let us consider seven ways we can keep the heart in a season of need.
1. Reflect on the Experiences of Past Saints
In times of poverty or hardship, one of the greatest encouragements we can cling to is the reminder that we are not alone. Many of God’s dearest saints have walked this road before us. If the Lord has brought us to a place of need, He is dealing with us just as He has dealt with some of the holiest men and women in history. Our struggles are not proof that He has turned away from us. In fact, they may be evidence that we are right where He often places His people.
Consider the Apostle Paul. He said of himself and his fellow laborers, “To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless” (1Co 4:11). Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament and gave his life to plant churches and proclaim the gospel, often went without basic necessities. He knew hunger. He knew what it was like to be cold and without shelter.
Paul was not alone. Hebrews 11 describes the heroes of the faith as people who endured severe hardships. “They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated” (Heb 11:37). These were men and women commended to us as examples of great faith.
Our Lord Jesus Himself lived in want. He said, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Lk 9:58). The Son of God, the heir of all things, lived without a home.
So when your heart cries out, “Has anyone ever suffered like I am suffering?”—turn to Scripture. Ask David. He once begged a wealthy man named Nabal to provide bread for himself and his men (see 1Sa 25:8). Think of the widow at Zarephath, gathering sticks for her last meal when God sent Elijah to her (1Ki 17:12). Hear the testimony from the Psalms: “I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread” (Ps 37:25). God did not abandon them, and He will not abandon you.
Many saints throughout history have endured hunger, homelessness, persecution, and loss. They remained faithful not because they were stronger, but because God was faithful to them. He led them through the valleys of need. Their stories are recorded for our encouragement. The same God who sustained Paul, who fed Elijah by the brook, who multiplied loaves and fish—He walks with you now.
Take heart. Your situation is not unusual for a child of God living in a fallen world. When hardship makes you feel alone, remember that you are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses (Heb 12:1). Their lives remind us that God does not forsake His people. Their examples prove that His sufficiency is real.
You can trust the God who cared for Paul, for Mary, and for the countless faithful ones who came before you. He is writing your story into the same grand narrative of His providence. When you begin to wonder if your trials are too great, remember David—how many dangers and difficulties he endured, and how God delivered him time and again. Remember Jesus, who in His hunger found no figs on the tree. He truly understands.
The Lord has not set His displeasure upon you by allowing hardship. On the contrary, He is treating you as a beloved child. Others have faced the same trials and found God faithful all the way through. You are in good company. Let their example steady your heart and fill you with patience and trust.
2. Trust in God’s Promises
When we enter a season of financial lack or physical need, it is natural for our hearts to wrestle with anxiety and doubt. We begin to wonder where provision will come from or whether help will arrive in time. In moments like these, nothing steadies the heart like holding fast to the promises of God. He has not left us to walk through hardship empty-handed. He has given us something solid to stand on.
John Flavel wrote, “If God leave you not in this condition without a promise, you have no reason to repine or despond under it.” As long as we have His promises—and we do—we have no cause to sink into despair. Scripture is filled with pledges from God, written precisely for times of need. We are told in Hebrews that the “throne of grace” is there so that we may receive mercy and find grace “to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16). Open the Bible, and you will find page after page where God assures His children of His care.
The Psalms are rich with such promises. “The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing” (Ps 34:10). “No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Ps 84:11). These verses remind us that if something is truly good for us, God will not withhold it. We may not have all we desire, but we will have all we truly need according to His perfect wisdom.
Jesus spoke directly to this in the Sermon on the Mount. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Mt 6:33). By “all these things,” He meant the essentials of life—food, drink, clothing—the very things we are tempted to worry about (Mt 6:31–32). Jesus does not promise luxury, but He does promise care. If we put God first, the Father will provide for us. We are simply called to trust Him.
Paul echoes this assurance in his letter to the Philippians: “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Php 4:19). Paul wrote those words to believers who had given generously, even out of their poverty. He was confident that God would replenish what they had poured out. And Paul did not root their hope in earthly resources, but in the unsearchable riches of Christ. The same Lord who rained manna from heaven and fed thousands with five loaves and two fish is able to meet your needs.
Flavel said that God has “left many sweet promises for the faith of His poor people to live upon.” Here are just a few to nourish your soul:
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Ps 23:1). He knows how to lead, feed, and protect His sheep, even when the pastures seem bare.
“When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none… I the LORD will hear them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them” (Isa 41:17). People may overlook you, but God never will.
“O fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!” (Ps 34:9).
With promises like these, why should we let our hearts sink? God’s word is more certain than our feelings or our circumstances. We can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear” (Heb 13:6).
So when anxious thoughts whisper, “But what about tomorrow?”—answer them with the promises of God. Write these verses down. Memorize them. Meditate on them. Let His voice be louder than the voice of fear. He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb 13:5).
It is, as Flavel wrote, “better to be as low as hell with a promise, than to be in paradise without one.” Even the darkest situation is lit by the light of God’s promises. Through them, He is quietly saying to you, “Trust Me. I will take care of you.”
3. Recognize We Have More Than We Deserve
Hardship and need can be bitter companions. It is not easy to go without things we want—or even things we believe we need. But one of the most powerful ways to steady the heart in these moments is to remember that we still have far more than we deserve.
Our hearts naturally drift toward entitlement. We begin to think we are owed comfort, or at least the basics of life. But Scripture teaches us something very different. As sinners, we deserve neither comfort nor ease. The psalmist writes, “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities” (Ps 103:10). If God gave us exactly what our sins deserved, none of us could stand. “The wages of sin is death” (Ro 6:23). Every breath, every bite of food, every kindness from another person—these are not wages earned but mercies given by a gracious God.
When we view life through the lens of eternity, our perspective is reshaped. Anything this side of hell is mercy. That may be hard to hear, but it is also deeply comforting. If God had dealt with us in strict justice—apart from Christ—we would be condemned. Yet here we are, alive, sustained by His patience, and saved by His grace.
Remember, God has not withheld from you the greatest gift of all. He gave His only Son for you. Paul points to this in Romans: “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Ro 8:32). God has already met your deepest need at the highest possible cost. You did not deserve to be chosen, forgiven, and adopted. Yet in Christ, God has done all this for you. If He gave you Christ, will He not also provide everything else you truly need? Your current hardships are not signs that He loves you less. The cross has already settled His love once and for all.
If your present circumstances seem hard, consider how much worse it could be. Ask yourself, “What if God had left me in my sins?” But He did not. Though you may have little in this world, James says you are “rich in faith” (Jas 2:5).
So weigh your present troubles against the blessings you have in Christ. Paul writes, “[God] has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Eph 1:3). You have forgiveness. You have peace with God. You have the Holy Spirit living within you. You have the sure hope of everlasting life. These blessings are beyond price, and they are already yours by grace.
When we think this way, gratitude begins to rise. Do you see the mercy? You likely still have some measure of health, family, or friendship. You may have a roof over your head—something many around the world do not. Instead of fixing your eyes on what you lack, turn your heart to thank God for what you have. Contentment grows out of gratitude. Remind yourself that we have no claim on even the smallest comfort, yet God has surrounded us with mercies. If you are alive today, there is hope—and there is the certainty of God’s care.
The humble heart says with Jacob, “I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant” (Ge 32:10). That kind of heart still feels the sting of hardship, but it also tastes the sweetness of God’s goodness even in the midst of it. It resists self-pity. It makes room for praise to grow where we least expect it.
4. Understand It Could Be Worse
When we are hurting, it is easy to fixate on how bad things feel. Our minds tend to magnify the trouble until it blocks out the signs of God’s kindness all around us. One way to guard our hearts from despair is to remember that, as difficult as our situation may be, God has mercifully kept it from being worse.
This does not make light of your hardship. Your pain is real. But it helps to view it with perspective. Flavel encourages believers to recognize that God, in His wisdom, often spares us from heavier burdens. Our trials are measured. They are restrained by mercy, even when we do not see it at first.
Imagine if God removed your current trouble but replaced it with something more painful—perhaps a deep spiritual crisis. Would you trade your financial struggle for the feeling that God had abandoned you? It is always better to endure outward affliction while enjoying the favor of God than to live in comfort with a troubled conscience. “A broken spirit who can bear?” (Pr 18:14).
Think of Job. Satan was permitted to take much from him—his wealth, his health, even his children. But God set limits. Job’s soul was protected. In the same way, God places boundaries around every hardship we face. He knows exactly what we can bear by His grace.
For the believer, if you still have the favor of God, you are rich beyond measure. No earthly trial can bar your way to the throne of grace. As Flavel wrote, “If adversity and poverty could bar you from access to God, it were indeed a deplorable condition: but, so far from this, you may go to Him as freely as ever.” You can still pray. You can still open the Word and find comfort.
It also helps to remember that others bear burdens we have been spared. Somewhere today, a believer sits in a prison cell for Christ. Somewhere, a family mourns the death of a child. Somewhere, a Christian faces persecution. This is not to stir guilt but to awaken gratitude.
When Israel grumbled in the wilderness about their food, they forgot the slavery and misery they had been rescued from in Egypt (Nu 11:4–6, 18–20). We are not so different. We often forget how much God has already done. Complaining suggests that He has treated us unfairly, when He has in fact been generous and kind.
And if we look further, we see that the worst fate would be to live and die without Christ. But that is not your end. You have been redeemed. “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (Mk 8:36). If you have lost worldly comforts but kept your soul safe in Christ, you have gained far more than you have lost.
Paul calls our present affliction “light and momentary” when compared to the “eternal weight of glory” that is coming (2Co 4:17). You may have lost some earthly things, but you have gained Christ—the Pearl of Great Price.
So steady your heart with this: God has placed boundaries on your trial. It could have been worse, but in His mercy, it is not. “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability,” Paul writes. “But with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1Co 10:13). Better still, He promises that all things—even this hardship—are working together for your good (Ro 8:28).
Perhaps the Lord is protecting you from dangers you cannot see. Perhaps more wealth or comfort would have led your heart away from Him. Remember the wise prayer in Proverbs: “Give me neither poverty nor riches… lest I be full and deny you… or lest I be poor and steal” (Pr 30:8–9). God knows what will keep your heart close to Him.
Take time to count not only what has happened, but what has not. Thank Him for mercies you once took for granted. Thank Him for protections you cannot yet see. This turns murmuring into trust, and despair into hope.
God is better to us than we deserve. Even in our trials, His mercy is at work.
5. Remember Suffering Is Short-Lived
One of the surest ways to keep your heart steady in a season of need is to view your suffering through the lens of eternity. What feels heavy and endless now is, in truth, brief and passing. It will not last forever. John Flavel puts it simply: “If it be bad now, it will be better shortly.” His counsel is to hold on. Better days are coming—either in this life or in the life to come.
Even the longest earthly life is just a vapor compared to the endless joy that awaits us (Jas 4:14). Scripture consistently urges us to lift our eyes beyond present troubles. Paul writes, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2Co 4:17). What feels unbearable now will one day seem light and short when set beside the greatness of what God is preparing for us. Every day we cling to Christ through hardship, we are being prepared for a glory that far outweighs the cost.
Paul, who suffered greatly, also said, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Ro 8:18). One glimpse of Christ, one moment in His presence, will make all our present pain seem small. This is not to diminish our suffering. It is to magnify the joy that is coming.
And we are not only looking to eternity. We also have reason to hope that God may change our situation in this life sooner than we expect. Flavel uses the image of a traveler whose money is nearly gone. But if he knows the journey is almost over, he is not troubled. He says, “My money is almost spent, but my journey is almost finished too.” We are pilgrims on the road home. “Here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (Heb 13:14). Each step brings us closer to our true home.
This truth gives strength to endure a few more cold nights. As one early Christian martyr said before his death, “The winter is sharp and cold, but heaven is warm and comfortable.” The discomfort will soon give way to everlasting comfort.
Very often, God brings relief even before our journey ends. Trials have a set season. “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Ps 30:5). Many believers can testify that just when the night felt darkest, God brought light. Remember the widow at Zarephath. She believed she was preparing her last meal—but God sustained her daily (1Ki 17:14–16).
The same God who fed Elijah by ravens can feed you too. You may think your barrel must last for years, but God may refill it tomorrow. And if He does not, your journey may be nearer its end than you know. Either way, your need will not last forever. Whether through earthly provision or by calling you home, God will supply all that you need.
Even death, the worst-case scenario by human standards, is for the believer a doorway to glory. “To depart and be with Christ… is far better” (Php 1:23). Death is not defeat for the Christian. It is the greatest victory of all.
Because of this, we can say with confidence that every possible outcome for the believer ends in God’s goodness. Either He sustains us here, or He welcomes us home. Either way, we are safe in His hands.
So when discouragement whispers that this trial will never end, remember Jesus’ promise: “You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy” (Jn 16:20). When you feel your strength giving way, recall the words of Hebrews: “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay” (Heb 10:37). The night may seem long, but the dawn is near.
Suffering is short-lived. Glory is forever. Let that hope anchor your soul. “Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast” (Jas 5:11). Your steadfastness will not be in vain. The Lord, full of compassion and mercy, will prove Himself faithful in the end.
6. Trust God as Father
In a season of need, one of the sweetest truths to remember is that God is your Father. He is not only Father in the Trinitarian sense. If you belong to Christ, He is your Father—personally, intimately, eternally. You have been adopted into His family, with all the rights and privileges of a beloved child (Jn 1:12; Ro 8:15–17). The God who rules the universe also watches over you with a father’s care.
“As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him” (Ps 103:13). Just as a good father would never ignore the cry of a hungry child, your Heavenly Father does not turn a deaf ear to your needs. He sees. He knows. He cares.
When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He said, “Our Father” (Mt 6:9), reminding us that we approach God not as beggars to a distant king, but as children to a loving Father. He said, “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Mt 6:26). If God feeds the sparrows, will He not much more care for you?
Jesus also said, “Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all” (Mt 6:32)—your food, your clothing, your shelter. Like a wise and attentive parent, He knows your needs before you ask. You do not have to persuade Him to care. He already does.
Not only does He know, but He is able and willing to provide. “Which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? … If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Mt 7:9, 7:11). Even flawed, earthly parents know how to meet the needs of their children. How much more does your perfect Father?
Those three words—“how much more”—should shape our entire view of God. His goodness and wisdom go far beyond anything we have known. He may answer differently than we expect, but always better than we could have imagined.
Flavel reminds us that when we doubt God’s care, we behave like forgetful children. How many times has He come through for you? Can you not look back and trace His hand—providing, guiding, rescuing, often just in time? God Himself says, “Can a woman forget her nursing child…? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you” (Isa 49:15).
It brings God glory when we trust Him with childlike faith. He invites us to cast all our anxieties on Him “because he cares for you” (1Pe 5:7). Tell Him what you need. Keep asking. Keep trusting. Your Father is not irritated by your persistent prayers. He delights in them.
Trusting God as Father also means trusting His discipline. A loving parent does not shield a child from every hard thing. He uses trials to train and strengthen. “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves” (Heb 12:6). His hand may be firm, but it is always loving.
So steady your heart with this simple truth: My Father knows. My Father cares. My Father is able. My Father is faithful. Your Father, the Almighty God, holds your life in His tender and sovereign hands.
As Flavel wisely wrote, “If I persist in want of what is good and needful for me, either my Father knows not my wants, or has not wherewith to supply them, or regards not what becomes of me. Which of these shall I charge upon Him?” Of course, the answer is none. Trust Him. He will not fail you.
7. Understand That Poverty Is Not Sin
When hardship comes, it is easy to feel ashamed. We may quietly believe that our poverty or need is a sign of failure. Maybe God is displeased. Maybe we are to blame. But Scripture teaches us to draw a clear distinction between sin and affliction. Poverty is not sin. It is affliction.
Being in need does not mean you have done wrong. It does not mean God is punishing you. Many of God’s dearest children have walked through deep seasons of need—and they did so with great faith and godliness.
Consider our Lord Jesus. He was perfectly sinless, perfectly pleasing to the Father, yet He lived as a poor man. Peter and John said, “I have no silver and gold” (Ac 3:6). That was not because of laziness or failure, but because they had devoted themselves to gospel ministry. The church in Smyrna was poor, yet Jesus said, “You are rich” (Rev 2:9). James reminds us that “God [has] chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom” (Jas 2:5). Poverty is often the soil where faith grows best.
Of course, there are times when poverty results from sin—wastefulness, laziness, or destructive habits. If your conscience convicts you, confess it, turn from it, and rest in the mercy of God. But if your conscience is clear, do not accuse yourself. As Flavel wrote, “If you have not by sinful means brought it upon yourself, and if it be but an affliction, it may the more easily be borne.”
Job suffered immense loss, yet God called him “blameless and upright” (Job 1:8). In John 9, Jesus corrected His disciples’ assumption that a man’s blindness was caused by sin. “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (Jn 9:3). God may be displaying His power in your life through your hardship.
Be watchful against the lies of the world. The world says success is proof of worth, and poverty is shame. But in God’s eyes, poverty borne with faith is honorable. The world saw Christ on the cross and saw defeat. Heaven saw victory. In God’s kingdom, success is measured by faithfulness, not finances.
If you grieve because you cannot give or serve as you once did, remember that God sees the heart. “If the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have” (2Co 8:12). A willing heart is a precious offering. Prayer, encouragement, and kindness are gifts God cherishes.
Poverty brings its own temptations—envy, bitterness, dishonesty. But prosperity carries its own dangers too. Proverbs warns against both (Pr 30:9). Wealth can tempt us to forget God. Poverty drives us to depend on Him. Affliction often produces humility, trust, and compassion—graces that thrive in the shadows.
Most importantly, poverty does not change your standing in Christ. “Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation” (Jas 1:9). You may be low in the eyes of the world, but in Christ you are raised high. Your worth is secured forever in Him.
And if others help you along the way, receive their kindness with gratitude and dignity. Behind every generous hand stands your Father, answering prayer and providing through His people.
So do not let poverty burden you with false guilt. As long as you are pursuing righteousness and trusting the Lord, your need is not a curse. It is a trial, and it can bear sweet fruit. You can live a holy and honorable life to the glory of God—even with little in this world.
Your Savior had no place to lay His head. And now He reigns. Follow Him faithfully. Poverty may test you, but it can never separate you from the love of your Father.
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