The image is still vivid in my mind, even though I was only eight years old. After Sunday lunch at my Granddaddy’s, Dad and I walked with him across his corn fields. Clouds of dust puffed from under our feet with each step. Corn stalks that should have towered over my head were only a foot tall, brown, and shriveled. Granddaddy knew he would not produce any crops that year even if rain came and ended the dry spell. However, this was not the first dry spell he had endured during his lifetime of farming. He was hopeful that the rain would return the following year, which it did, and he produced a good harvest.
In all the seasons that God instituted, we will encounter varying conditions. Sometimes there is an abundance of rain; sometimes a season is abnormally cold or hot; sometimes a season is hit with destructive storms such as hurricanes, tornadoes, or hail. Yet, one thing farmers dread most is a dry spell during the growing season. In the past few years in certain areas of America, we have witnessed dry spells to the point of severe droughts. Without a backup irrigation system, people have lost their farms because of the economic loss.
In every season of life, as in nature, we also face varying conditions. Some may be times of abundance and blessings, but others can challenge the very core of our faith. Like the farmer, believers probably dread the dry spells most. These are the times when our spiritual life becomes dull and lifeless. We do not sense God’s presence. Our prayers seem to go no further than the ceiling. God’s love does not feel real or alive anymore. When we open the Bible, the pages seem blank—nothing speaks to us. Worship becomes a routine of going through meaningless motions. Joy is a forced facade. Numb and empty best describes these times of dryness.
As I read several Psalms this week, I saw that ‘dry spells’ are nothing new for God’s people. David wrote, O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; And by night, but I have no rest (Psa 22:2). How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me (Psa 13:1)? The prophet Habakkuk also cried out, How long, O LORD, will I call for help, And You will not hear (1:2)? All through the Bible, we read about faithful men and women of God who encountered spiritual dry spells.
If God instituted the seasons of nature and the seasons of our lives, why does He allow dry spells? First, we must remember we live in a sinful and fallen world for now. Paul tells us that all creation was subjected to futility and groans waiting for the final redemption of man and the universe. Unpleasant conditions can happen simply because we live in this sinful world. At other times, God allows dry conditions to test our faithfulness. Will we serve Him just as we do during the good times? Dry spells can be like strong winds blowing through the forest shaking off the dead limbs so new growth can come. Dry spells will reveal the fence sitters who only serve Him for the blessings.
So as committed believers, how do we get through the dry spells? Foremost, we keep moving forward and pressing toward the goal. We may not know why we are in a dry time, but can rest assured He is still our Father; He still loves us. Paul declares that tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword cannot separate us from the love of Christ.
My Granddaddy did not give up on God or stop farming because he went through a dry spell. Also, he had learned to be prepared with a reserve of canned, dried, and frozen vegetables; he had extra hams in the smokehouse; a small garden that was close enough to an old hand water pump that supplied enough water for the vegetables. Yet, most of all he had hope that next year the rains would return.
People today are drawn away by the false teaching that Christians should only expect seasons of blessings. Then, when the dry seasons come, they are like the seed sown on rocky ground with no root and soon fall away.
Elijah sat by the drying brook of Cherith, the place God had sent him. Even with the brook getting dryer and dryer, Elijah continued obeying the LORD’s instructions. After some time, the word of the LORD came and sent him to Zarephath. It was three years before the rain came. All during this time, Elijah trusted God to care for him during a dry spell that had become a severe drought. He knew the rain would again fall.
When we encounter a dry spell that feels like a server drought, we must trust God and the instructions He has given. He will take care of us. The rain will again come and you will again produce an abundant harvest.
Sustaining Word for the Week:
If you are in a dry spell, keep moving and pressing toward the goal. You may not sense His presence, but He is with you. You might feed on some ‘canned vegetables or go to the smokehouse’ —that is, remember the lessons and victories of the past.