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“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38 ( ESV) “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence.” 2 Peter 1:3 (ESV)

In case you haven’t already heard – we’ve been in a drought.  Yes, Virginia is experiencing a prolonged season of extreme hot and humid weather with very little rainfall.  My beautiful flowers beg for water every day, and I have to admit some days the humidity is so high, I simply don’t want to go outside. While quenching their thirst doesn’t rank high on my list, I do love  vibrant blooms.  Reality is the trade-off is to endure the sweat or lose the beauty.

Ever felt as though you were in a drought?  A dry season when life appeared dull or empty. God seemed far away as our prayers hit against the wall.  Joy faded quickly and worship was -let’s just admit it – nonexistent.  Our enthusiasm and desire for God’s word hit an all time low as stunted spiritual growth stared back at us in the mirror.  And the evidence of our actions displayed  more of us and less of Him.

Wow – not the place any of us would really want to land, right?

Just like soil needs moisture to nourish and grow its crops, we physically can’t live without water, nor can we thrive without “living water ” to quench our spiritual bodies. As believers in Jesus, we have been given this overflowing well of living water through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.   The evidence of this living water enables us to produce spiritual fruit and walk in obedience to God.  Yet if we suppress, hinder or extinguish the influence of the Holy Spirit and seek to do life on our own terms then drought of the soul will eventually define us.

Best solution is to recognize the signs of a spiritual drought before it has time to overwhelm us.  When we easily skip over our time in God’s word on repeat, we are setting ourselves up for a parched soul.  Void of a connection with God, we will find ourselves apathetic towards His truth.  Joy will definitely fade as emptiness attempts to fill the void in our lives.  Pivotal truths we learned will be excused or compromised to better fit our agenda.

Bottom line, spiritual drought can be avoided if we heed the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and walk in obedience to God.  “Search me and try me O God and know my heart!  Try me and know my thoughts!  And see if there be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way everlasting, echoed from the lips of David, a man after God’s own heart.  We would be wise to utter these same words every day and genuinely welcome what the Holy Spirit reveals in us. Confession is a beautiful gift if we offer it to God from a truly repentant heart:  confess sin (name it) seek the Spirit’s help in turning away from it and walking in obedience to God empowered by the Holy Spirit.

“Father, help us to avoid a spiritual drought by intentionally choosing to be transformed by the Holy Spirit’s work in us so we will radiate Your beauty to our world.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life