GETTING THROUGH THE DRY SEASONS
Psalm 42:1-2
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
If I'm honest, my heart doesn't always pant for the Lord. I want it to, but in reality I'm not always craving it like I should.
I write daily words that go out to thousands, many of the same people read them day in and day out and I've been putting them out 5 days a week for 12 years... yet there are times I feel so very dry - so far away from the presence of God. There are days when I struggle with my mind coming up words that make sense.
In these moments of dryness, I have no great yearning to read the Word as I do at other times. My desire for reading of the Bible is done mostly through a sense of obligation, a need to follow God's lead in my writing. When I'm dry and empty, I feel very little "push" to pray. I know my faith is intact, and my love for Jesus is still strong. There is no desire in me to go after the sinful things of this world. It's just that I can't seem to touch God in those days and weeks of spiritual dryness.
Spiritual dryness can be a time of preparation for us. Most every major person in the Bible that was used in a mighty way of God had to go through a dry/desert time. This includes Moses, Job, David, Elijah, Noah and Paul. Being in a place where we are dry, waiting, wanting, praying, examining, etc, is often a time of preparation for strength and refinement. Then, after this time is completed, the thing that we have been prepared for comes upon us. Sometimes this preparation is for hardship, sorrow, and pain. Other times it is for blessing, reward, and ministry. Remember, the Lord has not saved us to be trophies on His wall or shelf. We are His instruments to be used in the world. This usage requires that we be able to be used, able to be sent, able to trust the Lord in spite of what we see and feel. So, the time of spiritual dryness is a time of preparation.
We need to prepare our hearts to get through those deserts. What we are facing today is preparing us to GET THROUGH the times are coming.
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