There will come a time in your leadership when frustration builds and challenges pile up until you feel like you’re at a breaking point. You want to quit, give up and walk away. You want to turn the lights off in your office, close the door and leave for the final time.

Before you hit that switch for the last time, let me encourage you. No leader is immune from challenging seasons. But quitting during this time will short-circuit your growth. There is a great deal you can learn during this time that will prepare you for the next. So instead of walking out, let’s learn to wait upon the Lord.

Isaiah 40:31

but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;

   they shall mount up with wings like eagles;

they shall run and not be weary;

   they shall walk and not faint.

When it comes to waiting, timing is everything. I seem to always want things done on my schedule, even if my own timing is rarely good. But when I learn to wait on God and trust Him, I find His timing is always good. When we learn to wait on God’s calling, He can strengthen us and prepare us for the next phase of growth. Here are four lessons that I’ve learned while going through challenging seasons:

1. He's stretching my pain tolerance
Pain is the partner of a challenging season. I don’t know anyone who enjoys pain. I go out of my way to avoid it at all costs. But pain and disappointment can be great teachers.

You only grow to the level of your pain tolerance. There will be another season ahead that will require a higher pain tolerance. Avoiding painful situations will leave you ill equipped for it.

Here’s another way to look at it: This current trouble can prepare me for a future tragedy. I may have to deal with a death, the dissolution of a dream or unforeseen financial downturn. When I have a higher pain tolerance, I can manage better in that future challenging season.

When I have a higher pain tolerance, I can manage better in that future challenging season.

2. He's giving me different perspective

Different seasons require different vantage points. When I go through a challenging season I get to see things in a whole new light. The growth that I get from that experience can help me see better at the next turn.

When I face challenges, I should ask, What can I learn? How can I grow in this? What do I need to see differently? For instance, dealing with difficult people can give me a new perspective on how different people see the world and respond to it. If I don’t have the opportunity to deal with difficult people, I may never see things through their eyes.

3. He's teaching me how to lead in the midst of ambiguity and chaos

We push hard for clarity and order, but they rarely exist in dynamic organizations. And the bigger and more diverse our systems get, the more ambiguous they can become with a greater chance of chaos. I need to learn to adapt to those changes and lead in middle of it.

When I face challenging seasons, God is teaching me how to live, love and lead when things aren't perfect or don't go my way. In ambiguous or chaotic times, clarity can actually increase when we lean in and wait on the Lord.

During one of the most challenging seasons of my life, I felt like I had lost some clarity. But after waiting on the Lord and reestablishing my trust, I saw that I had accomplished a lot during that time. I finished my doctoral work while also reworking how our fellowship trains church planters, raised over $500,000 for church planting and launched a new leadership magazine. All while in the midst of ambiguity and chaos! Isn’t God good?

If I don’t have the opportunity to deal with difficult people, I may never see things through their eyes.

4. He's teaching me to guard my heart

Proverbs 4:23 cautions us to guard our hearts as our source of life. Challenging seasons have a way of cutting off that flow! I need to be on guard for how these trying times test me.

In difficult leadership seasons, it's very easy to get a calloused heart. If I deal with negativity on a daily basis, it can start to seep in. My defense mechanism may be to justify my own behavior or become self-righteous. It's easy to dig in, pass judgment and think I’m always right.

Here are some things I repeat to myself to guard my heart: I’m not always right. I don't always have all the information. I need to pray more, study more and talk less sometimes. I need to guard my heart because that is the true measure of my present and future success.

These lessons are important because an inability to handle difficulty can be a sign of insecurity. If I’m running too many “if…then” scenarios through my head, I may be insecure about my future. If I’m worried about what others will think, I may be insecure about my identity. If I’m scared to make decisions, I may be insecure about God’s ability.

We can overcome those insecurities by doubling down on what really matters. If I remain faithful in the important things – my family, my relationship with God and my witness in the world – then God will see me through any difficult time.