Responding to God in Spiritual Dryness

While God is the one primarily at work in spiritual dryness, there are ways that we can participate in his good work:

Keep Coming to God: Bring God your confusion and anger and hurt. Even if you don't know what to say to him, tell him that you don't know what to say and keep coming back to him. He wants all of you, and this gives him exactly what he wants. Writing down your prayer in a journal can be a helpful way of processing all that God is doing, and you can look back months and years later to see what he accomplished.

Take care of your body: 
Commit your body to God through exercise, good eating habits and rest. We are physical, emotional and spiritual beings and the condition of our bodies affects the way we see God and ourselves.

Stay In Community: 
The importance of staying involved in a church community cannot be overstated. This doesn't mean that everyone needs to know everything, but you should share your heart with a few mature Christians who have a grid for what you're experiencing. You were never meant to walk this road alone.  

Read scripture in community: You should read scripture on our own, but in spiritual dryness it may be more important to do this in a bible study or small group - preferably where you aren't the leader! It is common for those in this struggle to read scripture with certain preconceptions about God and our life in him, and we need to be open to having our spiritual ideals dismantled.


See a counselor: The darkness and emptiness makes room for you to hear the emotional wounds from your past, which will become unavoidable. Professional counselors can be invaluable in helping you walk through and attend to these wounds, and see God's grace in the midst of them.

Serve: This may not be the time to lead in a ministry role, but it is important to get out of yourself by serving others. This may only involve stacking chairs after the Sunday service, but find a way to serve and stick with it.

See the good God is doing: Instead of waiting for his voice or for the feeling of his presence, watch the good he is doing in you through spiritual dryness. He doesn't tell you what he is doing because you would probably try to interfere and control the process, so look for the ways he has already changed you while you weren't watching. Are you becoming less dependent on your emotional response to worship? Has he blessed others through you even when you were a mess? Are you no longer striving after that which God never wanted for you in the first place?


What other ways have you responded to God in spiritual dryness? Feel free to email me or comment below. 

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