Surviving the Dry Season
In your spiritual life you will have seasons of plenty and of want. Some days will be dry and others will be wet. Why does God send the dry seasons, and how do we get through them?
A few years ago, we had a new pastor join our staff. He and his wife came from Georgia but lived in several places—Massachusetts, Detroit, and even Scotland. This, though, was their first extended time in the Midwest. I remember him asking a question that struck me as funny at the time.
We were in the middle of a typical Spring week. It had rained for several days in a row, and we hadn’t seen the sun for nearly a week. He asked, “How long will this rainy season last?”
On its face, there is nothing unusual about that question. Every different climate has its rainy seasons. But I was born and raised in Kansas City and have always lived there. This was just spring. You never know exactly when it will end. You know, you’ll wake up one day, and it will be summer. Until then…it’s spring. One year, when I was in high school, I worked for my uncle’s construction crew. It was the first week of June, and I wore jeans and a hoody every day. The next week I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt.
It’s just a season.
Just as sure as the rain will stop and the sun will come out is the fact that a dry season will work its way through the Midwest—usually in late July or August. And just as worn out as I get from never seeing the sun during the spring, I am taxed from the relentless heat sometimes through September. These cycles of wet and dry are just a way of life.
The same is true of your spiritual life.
You will have seasons of plenty and seasons of want. You will experience times when you see God everywhere you look and times when you can’t seem to find God, no matter how hard you search. Even more frustrating is how these dry seasons seem to immediately follow the spiritual highs. There isn’t usually a slow lapse, but suddenly, a switch is flipped, and you are now in the dry season.
If I’m completely honest with you, this is how I felt when I woke up Monday morning. The switch had been flipped. I had been on a mountain and am now in the valley. The high started a few weeks ago as I preached for a group of 500 photographers at the SYNC conference. Not too much later, I flew off to Europe to encourage a few missionaries from our church (and saw some amazing sites along the way). I came home to help oversee a community Easter egg hunt (over 1500 people on our campus) and then celebrate Easter with my church family.
I woke up Monday morning tired. I’m worn out physically but spiritually, too. I’ve given of myself for weeks in a row.
I’m sure you have experienced this, too. The question is why we feel this way and how to move forward.
The good news is we see this pattern of highs and lows, wet and dry seasons throughout Scripture. We see it in the life of Moses (and the people of Israel). You watch it play out in the life of Elijah. We even see it in Jesus’ life.
So, let’s learn from our heroes in the faith.
Red Sea Victory to Pools of Bitterness
Not long after Moses led Israel through the Red Sea (where God wiped out their enemies), they traveled three days through the desert…without water.1 When they finally came upon an oasis, they couldn’t drink the water because it was bitter. Why would God move the people away from the site of his great victory to this mirage?
Arriving at this false oasis was surely deflating. Scripture says the people complained and turned on Moses. But it wasn’t a shock to God. God knew staying at the site of his greatest victory yet was more detrimental than arriving at a place with undrinkable water.
We get lazy and complacent when we stay in a place of victory for too long.
“Above all, don’t dwell on yesterday’s victory. If your focus is on what’s behind you rather than what’s ahead, you will crash.”
-John Maxwell
God didn’t move Israel out of Egypt to camp by the Red Sea. He freed them for greater things—the land of Canaan. He sent them to Marah to remind them of his strength.
God made the bitter water sweet.
SYNC, Europe, Easter—these were all victories in my life, so God is moving me on. He is moving me forward and forcing me to rely on him to see his goodness in my life. This isn’t my natural tendency. God will soon move me to waters that he will make sweet.
This is God's pattern. He moves you on from places of victory, so you will rely on him.
So, how do you work your way through the dry places?
Mountain of Fire to the Still, Small Voice
The prophet Elijah saw God's most complete victory on Mount Carmel hundreds of years after Israel entered the Promised Land. During that time, they conquered their foes, built the Temple, and then backslid into all the things God warned them against (namely, idol worship).
On this mountain, Elijah calls down fire to swallow his sacrifice (altar and all) before the false prophets of the rival god Baal. Then Elijah prays for God to send rain after a three-year (plus) drought.
Elijah climbs down Mount Carmel, but he runs for his life instead of celebrating this tremendous victory. His nemesis, Jezebel, put a contract out on his life, so Elijah ran to another mountain—Sinai. Here, we see how to get through a dry spiritual season.2
We listen for the quiet voice of God.
Victories teach us to look for God's big and amazing signs, but this isn’t God's typical way. He moves and speaks quietly.
One important note: we must be mentally, physically, and emotionally refreshed to be prepared to hear God. On his way from Carmel to Sinai, God restores Elijah. Elijah is still spiritually disillusioned when he arrives at Sinai but is ready to hear God's voice.
When you walk through a dry season, make sure you take the time to be whole physically, mentally, and emotionally. Take a day off (maybe a week). Put yourself in a place where you are ready to hear God’s voice.
In these dry places, we God to speak. But how does he most often speak?
The Big Reveal to the Valley of Temptation
Jesus’ ministry on earth began after he submitted to God through water baptism. After Jesus emerged from the water, a dove descended, and God audibly spoke,
“You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” -Mark 1:11
After this revelation of God about Jesus’ true identity, Jesus was ‘driven into the wilderness.’ Jesus journeyed for 40 days, and here he encountered Satan, who tempted Jesus three different times.
In this dry season, Jesus emerged victorious by using the Word of God to rebuke Satan.
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’
‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’
‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’” -Matthew 4:4, 7, 10
God’s Word was the small, quiet voice inside of Jesus.
Sometimes, your dry season is a time of temptation. You need the Word of God in you to battle this temptation.
A New Season is Coming
All of this is for me more than you. You get a peak into what God is showing me (for me).
God is faithful. I recently read an article about a football player who is experiencing financial success after years of toil. He said, “I’ve got the bag.” God has given me “the bag” when it comes to victories. But God uses the space between victories to grow me. I’m tired today, but I know a new season is coming.
It’s dry today, but it will be rainy soon.
God is preparing me for new victories and teaching me to rely on his voice…the Word of God—to bring them to pass. God is doing the same thing for you.
A new season is coming.
Another way to support this newsletter is by forwarding this email!