God Is Working In Your Dry Seasons

With a weary heart, I picked up my Bible, my journal, and a colored gel pen to begin my day with a quiet time. Though I understood the words I read, I did not feel moved by them. They didn’t stir my heart or rouse my mind. Nothing stood out to me, and nothing seemed to apply to my life. They just felt like words on a page that told me what to do.

I was experiencing yet another period of spiritual dryness. I was journeying through a spiritual desert that seemed to have no end, and I longed for a place to be refreshed and renewed. All I saw in my Bible was commands that I didn’t want to obey, and all I heard in prayer was silence that felt deafening.

However, no matter how I felt on that discouraging morning, God was still with me. And he is with me still.

I just had to remember one crucial aspect about the Christian life: the moments when we feel most spiritually dry are often the moments when God is growing us the most.

Think about it. It’s easy to have a regular quiet time during an “emotional high,” as some call it. This “emotional high” is a time when you feel passionate about God and his Word. You feel moved by the sermons on Sunday, convicted by your Bible readings during the week, and emotionally filled when you sing worshipful songs. You even feel God speaking to your through your daily prayers.

During those times, it takes little effort to walk the way we should. We go to church, pray, read the Bible, fellowship with other Christians, and worship God without trouble. Of course, he can grow us during those times of spiritual comfort; but he often uses the dry times to stretch us and shape us into better Christians. We need to love him during the motivating moments—and the wearying ones.

“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? But I have trusted in your lovingkindness; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.” (Psalm 13:1-2, 5-6)

When we start wondering if God has become silent or if he has left our side, we must cling to this fact: he is still working in us. The dry times are not wasted—as long as we remain faithful to him.

He has saved us from the depths of hell, and he is holding us in his nail-pierced hands.

Keep picking up your Bible, your journal, and your gel pen. Keep rising early to meet him and listening to the sermons on Sunday. Keep singing praises to him, fellow shipping with other Christians, and falling down on your knees to pray.

Spiritual dryness doesn’t mean death. In fact, if we are faithful in the dryness, he can produce life.