When God Does His Best Work in the Dark: Winter Growth We Cannot See
- Hannah
- Dec 9, 2025
- 4 min read
The deeper spiritual meaning of being “kept in the dark” and why winter is the season God prepares your roots for future growth.
Winter is not the absence of growth. Winter is the hidden work of God. Steven Furtick teaches that we must let the dirt do its work, and Holly Furtick reminds us that God often keeps us in the dark while He prepares us for what is next. This season may feel stripped back, quiet, or uncertain, yet beneath the surface, God is strengthening the foundations you will need for the spring and summer ahead.
The Ground We’ll Cover
In this post, we’ll explore:
Why winter feels like a spiritual pause when it is actually preparation
What “letting the dirt do its work” means in the soul
How God often grows us in the dark long before He brings us into the light
Why hidden seasons are essential for resilience and readiness
The quiet foundations God builds when life feels slow or unclear
How to trust God’s timing when you cannot see what He is doing
The Hidden Work of Winter
Every year, creation falls silent. Trees stand bare. Flowers retreat underground. The world grows still.
It looks like nothing is happening. But everything is happening.
Winter is a season where God works beneath the surface, building the roots that cannot be rushed. Nature knows this. Heaven knows this. Our souls know this too, even when our minds resist it.
We forget that silence is not inactivity. It is incubation.
The dark soil is not the grave of what has been planted. It is the womb.
Let the Dirt Do Its Work
Steven Furtick once said, “Let the dirt do its work.” He was talking about the uncomfortable, gritty, buried places in life that we try to escape. The seasons where we feel unseen, misunderstood, or unsure. The moments when nothing seems to be moving forward.
But in the kingdom of God, dirt is not punishment. Dirt is process.
Seeds do not grow because they are strong. Seeds grow because the dirt covers them, protects them, and applies pressure that pushes the roots down before the stem rises up.
If God has you buried, He has you becoming. If God has you covered, He has you protected. If God has you still, He has you strengthening.
Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is stop fighting the season and let the dirt do the holy work it was designed for.
Kept in the Dark: Holly Furtick’s Christmas Message
Several years ago Holly Furtick said in her Christmas message that God often “keeps us in the dark,” not to punish us, but to prepare us. I have listened to this message several years a row.
Think of the womb. Think of seeds. Think of Jesus Himself, forming quietly in the hiddenness of Mary’s body. The greatest miracle the world has ever known was nurtured in darkness before it appeared in light.
Some of God’s brightest plans for your life will be grown in places where you cannot see them yet.
You are not forgotten. You are not overlooked. You are being kept.
Kept safe. Kept guarded. Kept held. Kept in the dark until the appointed time.
Winter Is God’s Root Work
Winter is where God goes deep. Winter is where He is strengthening what will need to hold you later. Winter is where the unseen becomes the essential.
In the darker months, your soul slows down. Your mind becomes more reflective. Your emotions shift inward. Your body asks for gentle rhythms.
This is not regression. This is restoration.
This is where God reinforces identity, shaves off old patterns, heals fractures, and anchors you for the future you will be stepping into.
Winter is where God builds what everyone else will eventually see.
When Nothing Looks Like It Is Changing
You may not see progress. You may not feel momentum. You may not know what God is doing.
But roots do not announce themselves while they grow. They dig. They deepen. They strengthen. They prepare.
Your spring is shaped long before you ever stand in its sunlight.
Your summer is nourished long before its warmth arrives.
What looks like nothing is always something in the hands of God.
A Closing Thought
This winter, if you feel buried, let the dirt do its work. If you feel kept in the dark, remember you are being kept by God, not hidden from Him. If you feel like nothing is growing, trust that everything is being prepared.
God is not finished with your story. He is fortifying your roots. He is strengthening your foundation. He is preparing the ground for a season where what is planted now will rise in beauty and purpose later.
You are not behind. You are becoming.
💛 Hannah
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