Jesus said ‘whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them’, John 7:38.
However, we do not always maintain that vital connection to God perfectly. And therefore all of us experience seasons where we feel spiritually dry.
Evangelist D.L Moody was asked why he lay so much emphasis on being filled with the Holy Spirit, he wisely said, because I leak.
Spiritual dryness is not a problem in itself, in fact the awareness of our spiritual dryness is a gift from God. It is His invitation to come and partake of His life and His Spirit.
Spiritual dryness does become a problem if we:
- do not recognize that we are becoming depleted, or do not recognize that God is the answer to our need, or become too exhausted to connect with God.
It is important for us to recognize the signs of depletion as early as possible..
1. Giving while empty or weary: A sign of spiritual dryness is that we are no longer giving to others out of a sense of fullness. We feel empty as if something is missing. One become burn out.
2. Serving out of duty: When we are spiritually dry there is a subtle shift in our motivation to serve God, whether in the church or elsewhere. Our motivation to continue serving may be that others are relying on us, or we want to honour a commitment, or even feel a duty towards God.
3. Our faith is no longer contagious: According to David in the psalms, it is the joy of our salvation that results in us leading people to God, Psalm 51:12-13. When we are spiritually dry, it affects our relationship with those who do not know Jesus, we lost our joy to evangelize the lost souls. People are not seeing something in us that causes them to thirst for God.
4. God feels distant: When we feel a gradual distancing from God. Either we are not encountering Him regularly, or we are not hearing from Him, or we are hearing Him speak to us intermittently, Psalm 139:17-18
5. Negative Thinking: Rom 14:17, When we are spiritually dry the atmosphere of heaven righteousness, peace and joy seems to evade us. Instead, we find it easier to give way to negative thinking. We falter in our ability to resist and cast down destructive thoughts and emotions.
The good news is that when we are spiritually dry. God has already initiated and provided the answer to our need.
However, we do not always maintain that vital connection to God perfectly. And therefore all of us experience seasons where we feel spiritually dry.
Evangelist D.L Moody was asked why he lay so much emphasis on being filled with the Holy Spirit, he wisely said, because I leak.
Spiritual dryness is not a problem in itself, in fact the awareness of our spiritual dryness is a gift from God. It is His invitation to come and partake of His life and His Spirit.
Spiritual dryness does become a problem if we:
- do not recognize that we are becoming depleted, or do not recognize that God is the answer to our need, or become too exhausted to connect with God.
It is important for us to recognize the signs of depletion as early as possible..
1. Giving while empty or weary: A sign of spiritual dryness is that we are no longer giving to others out of a sense of fullness. We feel empty as if something is missing. One become burn out.
2. Serving out of duty: When we are spiritually dry there is a subtle shift in our motivation to serve God, whether in the church or elsewhere. Our motivation to continue serving may be that others are relying on us, or we want to honour a commitment, or even feel a duty towards God.
3. Our faith is no longer contagious: According to David in the psalms, it is the joy of our salvation that results in us leading people to God, Psalm 51:12-13. When we are spiritually dry, it affects our relationship with those who do not know Jesus, we lost our joy to evangelize the lost souls. People are not seeing something in us that causes them to thirst for God.
4. God feels distant: When we feel a gradual distancing from God. Either we are not encountering Him regularly, or we are not hearing from Him, or we are hearing Him speak to us intermittently, Psalm 139:17-18
5. Negative Thinking: Rom 14:17, When we are spiritually dry the atmosphere of heaven righteousness, peace and joy seems to evade us. Instead, we find it easier to give way to negative thinking. We falter in our ability to resist and cast down destructive thoughts and emotions.
The good news is that when we are spiritually dry. God has already initiated and provided the answer to our need.
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