My battles with spiritual dryness

I’ve had hard times, when the dust hazes of life obscure my view of the Lord and I stumble along the way, wondering where He is and why He seems so distant. “Is He angry with me again?”

“Am I feeling this dry and empty because I’m nursing my wounds alone or because I’m ashamed and burdened with guilt?”

“God must be weary of my pendulum lifestyle. I would if I were Him, because I suck. Maybe He’s punishing me with this silence, and it won’t end until I’m finally alive to my hopelessness?”

“But could this dryness be caused by my ignorance? Is it a result of living on feelings?

During my seasons of spiritual dryness, the enemy gives me a makeover with doubt and self-pity. “You are the only one having these issues… Do you hear other Christians talking about this–?”

“Maybe I should just withdraw myself from people and go to that prayer mountain, or attend a conference or seminar, or go on a long fast, engage some deep spiritual exercises and come up again.”

Spiritual dryness is a symptom, pointing to a bigger problem that needs immediate attention.

Over the years, my battles in this valley of the shadow of doubt have been closely knit with:

1)      My sins. Many times, the root of my spiritual dryness is un-confessed and un-repented sin. Sometimes though, after repenting and confessing the sin(s), the freshness and release I sought never came. Something else was in control.

2)      My feelings. Spiritual dryness and my feelings or emotions seem inseparable. The ecstasy I feel after a spiritual encounter doesn’t last forever but I always wish it did. I feel it’s at those times that God is happy with me. But life has in store, seasons of pain and confusion which when they last longer than expected, fear arrives with hard questions for faith.

3)      My problems. Life challenges have a way of making selfishness seem legitimate. My quest for self preservation picks during chaotic seasons. I, me and my take centre stage and when personal efforts fail to change things (like they often do), I embrace melancholy with both hands.

4)      My priorities. I’ve caught myself attending to urgent matters, leaving little or no time for important things like maintaining an intentional and regular fellowship with the Lord. Preceding some of my dry spells were overloaded schedules; occasioned by wanting to please everyone that makes a demand on my time to chasing chores and deadlines I refuse to jettison, because satisfying or fulfilling them gives a certain measure of self-worth. I forget my worth is already defined in Christ and His finished work.

Are you going through a period of dryness and don’t know what to do? Remember, the streams of Christ’s love, grace and life flow endlessly. It’s your duty to maintain a tenacious disposition to His promises and move from having a devotional life to living out a devoted life.

Job made some profound confessions here- Job 23:3, 8-9, 15-16

What has been your experience with spiritual dryness? How do you deal with it?

Author: Uche Izuora

I'm inspired by God’s passion for His name in every generation, which provokes global worship through Jesus Christ. Becoming an emotionally healthy and transformative disciple, I aim to mobilize the Church to engage in cross-cultural missions and raise other like-minded disciples who discover themselves in Christ and seek to present and represent Him as Savior and Lord among the nations northward of Uganda. View all posts by Uche Izuora