Get Together – Overcoming Dryness and Stagnation
Joh 7:38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water (NKJV)Eph 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.
Have you ever gone through a dry period in your walk with Jesus Christ? I must admit that there have been some times that I felt kind of dry as I was serving the Lord. Here are some times in particular. When we first moved to the property that our congregation is now located on I had some dry times right after that. There was much work to be done and some times that I had normally been spending in prayer were times that were now helping get set up in the new building. There have been some periods after deaths to my parents and my brother that it seemed like I experienced some dry times although during their home going services I really felt the prayers and love of our friends in such a way that it didn’t seem dry.
I could probably write a book on how to not experience spiritual dryness in your walk with Jesus Christ, but I am not going to do that right here. What I am going to do is share with you what I believe that the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart yesterday morning in my quiet time with the Lord on this matter. He showed me two things that can result in spiritual dryness that we can do something about with His help.
The first one was that sometimes we experience spiritual dry periods because we may pour out all the time and not take in. When we minister, and serve the Lord as we are called to do it can be draining on us emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Jesus knew this that is why He took time to get away. This was consistent about His life: Lu 5:16 So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed. Mt 14:23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. Mr 6:46 And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.
So to overcome Spiritual dryness we need to follow Jesus model and get away and spend time with the Father. Spend time in prayer, song, adoration, thanksgiving, in the Word and being quiet before the Lord. So if you have leaked out take the Apostle Paul’s advice and model what our Lord Jesus did and get away and be filled a fresh with the Holy Spirit.
The other way that the Holy Spirit showed me that people suffer dryness is when we don’t invest our time, gifts and talents in others. When water doesn’t move, it becomes stagnant. When I was in the restaurant business I learned at Health Department school that one drop of water left in a pan that is not dry can cause bacteria to grow and spoil the product. When we don’t allow god to use us to pour into others spiritual bacteria begins to grow in us. We become cold, callous, religious, critical church people. We weren’t given living water to be holding tanks.
If you are in a spiritually dry place begin to spend time with the Lord. Let Him pour back into you what has leaked out. When He does seek Him as to where, who and how that He wants you to let that living water flow back out of you into someone else. I believe that if we do this that God will bring us out of the dry periods and that we won’t grow stagnant in our relationship p with Jesus Christ.
Let Us Pray
Lord sometimes it seems like we are in the wilderness. When we are help us to draw away to that place with You in order that we can be refilled and refilled over and over again. We also ask You to help us to not grow stagnant in our relationship with You. Please show us who You want us to be the one that rivers of living waters flows out of and into.
In Jesus Name
Amen
Enjoying this January Summer here in Alabama.
Your Friend/Kinfolk
Preston
