How to Trust God Again After a Season That Hurt

Some seasons hurt in a way that lingers. Not just in your circumstances, but in your trust. You can still believe God is real, still believe He is good, and yet feel cautious inside. Like hope is something you have to hold carefully now. If you are trying to trust God again after pain, I want to say this plainly. That struggle does not make you weak. It means you have been through something real.

Pain changes the way a heart moves through the world. It teaches you to brace. It teaches you to expect disappointment. It teaches you to protect yourself before anything else gets close. And sometimes, without even meaning to, that protection spills over into your relationship with God. You do not stop believing, but you stop feeling safe. Trust feels harder. Prayer feels quieter. Worship feels more distant. It is confusing because you want to come close again, but part of you is still trying not to get hurt again.

This is where I think Scripture meets us with surprising tenderness. Psalm 34:18 NIV says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Not the impressive. Not the polished. The brokenhearted. If you feel crushed, this verse is speaking to you directly. It is not telling you to toughen up. It is telling you that God comes near. Not later. Not after you recover. Near, right now.

So how do you trust God again after a season that hurt?

Most of the time, it does not start with a big emotional turnaround. It starts with smaller things, almost embarrassingly small. One honest prayer. One sentence whispered while you are driving. One moment where you stop pretending you are fine and simply admit, “God, I am still hurting.” That kind of honesty is not a lack of faith. It is a form of faith. Because you are still talking to Him. You are still reaching.

Sometimes the first step is separating God’s presence from your outcomes. A painful season can convince you that trust means everything will go smoothly, and when it does not, your heart panics. But Psalm 34:18 does not promise that you will never hurt. It promises you will not be alone in the hurt. That shift matters. Trust is not the belief that nothing hard will happen again. Trust is the belief that God will not abandon you when hard things happen.

Another step that helps is letting trust be slow. Some people feel guilty because they think trust should bounce back quickly. But trust is relational. It grows through consistency. When you have been hurt, your heart usually needs time to relearn safety. God is not impatient with that process. He is close to the brokenhearted, which means He is close while you rebuild, not only after you are rebuilt.

If you are in that rebuilding season right now, one simple practice can help more than you might expect. Give yourself a small anchor. Something that brings you back to truth when your mind starts spiraling. Sometimes that anchor is a verse you keep returning to. Sometimes it is a short prayer you memorize. Sometimes it is a physical reminder that your hands can feel when your thoughts are running too fast.

That is one reason we created the Simple Cross Necklace at It Is Good. It is not meant to be loud, flashy, or performative. It is meant to be steady. A quiet reminder you can wear in the middle of ordinary life, especially when you are trying to trust God again after pain. Some days, just touching a cross and remembering, “He is near to the brokenhearted,” is enough to pull you back from the edge of fear. Not because the necklace fixes everything, but because reminders matter when you are healing.

If you want to take one gentle step forward today, consider this. You do not have to force your feelings. You do not have to pretend you are over it. You do not have to manufacture confidence. Start with closeness. Start with honesty. Start with one small moment where you choose to stay connected to God instead of pulling away.

And if you need someone to walk with you in that process, the Seven Day Hope Challenge was created for this exact kind of season. It is a quiet daily email journey meant to remind you that God is good, that you are seen, and that hope can return without pressure. Sometimes the heart does not need a lecture. It needs companionship.

Psalm 34:18 NIV is still true. God is close to the brokenhearted. If you are hurting, He is not far away. Trust can begin again in a whisper. Even a small whisper counts.