Daily Devotional For Sunday, May 18, 2025
Good morning Southside! We have what I call “dry” times in our spiritual lives. We feel as if we are only going through the motion of our faith, our daily quiet times, our ministry, our worship and our witness. It is as if we are on “automatic” rather than feeling ecstatic. It is as if we were in some kind of spiritual wilderness or desert.
God said these words to the people of Israel through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 43:18-19, The Lord did all that for you, but now he says, ‘Forget those things that happened a long time ago. Do not think about past events. (19) Look! Now I will do something that is new! It is already beginning to happen. Surely, you can recognize it. Yes, I will make a road through the desert. I will make streams in the wilderness.”(ESY).
Sometimes God allows this in our lives to get our attention. Sometimes these spiritual dry spells come due to sin and disobedience in our lives. Yes, it’s a place of isolation, danger, and minimal resources. But it’s also a place where God’s people experience His deliverance, provision, revelation, renewal, and preparation for a new season. Sometimes there are desert seasons of our lives, too. In fact, He might have led us there to see Him more clearly. If you feel like you’re walking through a desert and cannot see relief ahead, I want you to know the Spirit of God is with you. Let’s “not dwell on the past,” but watch for the “new thing” He wants to do in our lives. “Can you see it?” He asks. “I am making a way!”
God’s promise is what and how He brought refreshing water to the Hebrews in the wilderness, He will help us experience His refreshing and invigorating Living Waters. When we have spiritual dry spells, we must think biblically so that we think theologically. Our correct theology flows from the Bible, not the other way around. The Bible says this in Ecclesiastes 3:11a, “God has made everything appropriate in its time” NASB). If we believe God is in control, then even our dry spells can be use by Him.
Hebrews 6:17-18 says this: “In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, (18) so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us” (NASB). This tells us that God’s purpose and truth for our lives is unchangeable and God’s purpose for has been guaranteed by His own word or oath.
How do you get out of a spiritual dry spell? Maybe the same way you get out of a riptide. If you fight the riptide you can drown because it is stronger than you. But as a lifeguard, we were taught to swim parallel to the shore in the riptide and it will eventually free you of its grip. So, don’t fight it. Learn spiritually from your dry spell. Pour your heart out to God. Whatever else you may do, do not make the mistake of reacting due to your feelings and emotions. React biblically so that you react theologically. In the wilderness, the Hebrews had God’s word, but unfortunately they doubted God’s word and paid a huge price relationally with God.
Our spiritual walk with God is not about always being on an emotional or spiritual high. We need the lows because they stretch us, mold us, mature us to become more of what Christ wants. Logical thinking will send you further down into the abyss of depression. Logical answers never appease both spiritual and emotional issues. So, do not ask “Why” is this happening. Ask, “How?” “How God are you going to get me through this?” Ask what, “What is it God, the lesson you want me to learn?” Asking the “why” questions only creates more pain and confusion.
Assignment: Take a moment to reflect on your spiritual dry times. How did you handle them? Did you go to God’s word to get a biblical response so that you looked at it theologically correct? Or did you go to someone else or something else for your answers? There is a time for everything under heaven, even spiritual dry times.
Scripture To Meditate On: Psalm 105:14, “God split the rock, and water flowed out; it ran like a river through the desert” (NCV).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, when I find myself in a spiritually dry period, please help me to see that You have allowed this to get my attention. I want to be biblical so that I am spiritually theologically correct. I trust Your Word that eventually You will have Your Living Water flowing through me refreshing me, restoring me and reminding me that You love me. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly