You are in a desert or a dry place spiritually… so what do you do? Complain? Not that complaining really accomplishes anything but… May I suggest a couple of actions that have proved beneficial – at least for me. First: determine if you really are in a desert. One should always discover if one’s feelings and thoughts truly are accurate. So how do you know it’s a desert? What proof exists that supports this? Besides, what kind of desert is it because not all deserts are the same? Remember that as important as feelings are in this situation, you have to know, from the evidence, that you are in a desert place.
Second: think back and try and discover how you got into the desert in the first place? Did you stumble in, and, if so, how and what were you doing that led you into this place? Even if it is hindsight, the information will aid you in not following similar paths in your future. What you learn in the desert will always benefit you. Third: look around you. Even in a desert there is life. What kind of life do you see in this desert? Can you see how they ‘cope’ with living in a desert? Though you probably wouldn’t want to permanently reside there, how you live in these conditions will provide you with invaluable lessons. Without these first 3 steps, subsequent actions may be misdirected.
Deserts can be chock full of opportunities for discovery. It takes incredible inner fortitude to go beyond yourself to look at your surroundings and the opportunities they present. Minimally you should look at what God is teaching you in the desert you find yourself in. I believe that God is always teaching, always providing us with opportunities for self-discovery as well as who God is in these situations. I know He tells us in scripture that He always provides a way through (1 Corinthians 10:13, 2 Corinthians 9:8), but I believe He also provides lessons for us to learn and understand in every season we find ourselves in.
Spiritual deserts seem to be a fact of life. How we react to these seasons, What we learn, and When we apply our understandings marks what we do with and in the desert times… and after. Once out of the desert you can’t just say, ‘whew’ and return to the behaviors and thoughts that led you to the desert in the first place – unless you want to return to the desert. Personally, as profitable as deserts are, I really dislike having to repeat learning the same lesson(s). When we find ourselves (spiritually) gasping – don’t panic and look to the One who is beside you to understand what is being taught.
