ANDREW MARK SCOTT'S DEVOTIONALS
Taking God At His Word.
Friday August 16, 2013.
Dry Spells
There are times when prayer seems like a trickle. The pump to our spiritual well has run dry and the words are just a whimper, a sigh or a moan. You may not feel far from God, but the passion for prayer, reading the word and worship has all but evaporated by the heat of life's circumstances.
Your soul is parched for water, but you are too weary even thinking of filling a glass of cold water no less find it. Then you are gripped by hunger pains only to be overwhelmed by thirst in this endless cycle of need. A deep weariness overtakes you and all you do is want to sleep even if you are famished and parched. You really don't know which need to satisfy because the demands are too great. Distractions all around you threaten to swallow your last ounce of strength.
We all go through dry spells in our Christian walk. This wilderness experience will be re-visited many times over our lifetime. While the first time may be the most difficult, it still can be a challenge even for the most seasoned believer. Before the dry spell, often there is a mountain top experience where fellowship with God is sweet. His power and strength is known. Worship flows freely. The Scriptures are alive and promises almost jump off the page. There is an excitement and renewed vision for the things of God. Passion to love Him surges to new heights.
Then the Enemy stops up our wells like Isaac experienced in Genesis 26:15. He tries to prevent the flow of fresh water to sustain our lives in the wilderness (or the wild places where beasts and enemies dwell).
But God gives us a promise to carry us through these tough wilderness experiences where we are stripped of pride, self-reliance and ego. A place where God tests our hearts. Will we be just as passionate and loving toward Him when our wells have run dry? When the noon day heat threatens to scorch our souls? Or will we complain and accuse of Him of neglect and question why He has forsaken us?
It says in Isaiah 58:11, "And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not" (KJV).
Dig deep beloved, in those dry times, there is a hidden spring in Christ to be found. It will burst forth with living water but only to those who resign themselves to His care in times of dryness and weariness.
Your soul is parched for water, but you are too weary even thinking of filling a glass of cold water no less find it. Then you are gripped by hunger pains only to be overwhelmed by thirst in this endless cycle of need. A deep weariness overtakes you and all you do is want to sleep even if you are famished and parched. You really don't know which need to satisfy because the demands are too great. Distractions all around you threaten to swallow your last ounce of strength.
We all go through dry spells in our Christian walk. This wilderness experience will be re-visited many times over our lifetime. While the first time may be the most difficult, it still can be a challenge even for the most seasoned believer. Before the dry spell, often there is a mountain top experience where fellowship with God is sweet. His power and strength is known. Worship flows freely. The Scriptures are alive and promises almost jump off the page. There is an excitement and renewed vision for the things of God. Passion to love Him surges to new heights.
Then the Enemy stops up our wells like Isaac experienced in Genesis 26:15. He tries to prevent the flow of fresh water to sustain our lives in the wilderness (or the wild places where beasts and enemies dwell).
But God gives us a promise to carry us through these tough wilderness experiences where we are stripped of pride, self-reliance and ego. A place where God tests our hearts. Will we be just as passionate and loving toward Him when our wells have run dry? When the noon day heat threatens to scorch our souls? Or will we complain and accuse of Him of neglect and question why He has forsaken us?
It says in Isaiah 58:11, "And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not" (KJV).
Dig deep beloved, in those dry times, there is a hidden spring in Christ to be found. It will burst forth with living water but only to those who resign themselves to His care in times of dryness and weariness.
