March 11, 2025 • 20 mins
Are you feeling spiritually empty, going through religious motions, or struggling to find joy in your Christian walk? You're not alone. Spiritual dryness is a universal experience that affects every believer—yet we rarely talk about it openly.
This candid exploration of spiritual drought sheds light on what many Christians silently endure. Host Jonathan Sole shares his struggles with spiritual dryness as a pastor and breaks down the common symptoms: empty prayers, Bible reading that becomes a mere duty, and that nagging sense that God seems distant. Through powerful biblical examples like the raw honesty of Psalm 42 and Elijah's dramatic crash after his mountaintop victory, we see that even the most faithful believers experienced seasons of spiritual emptiness.
The episode doesn't just name the problem—it offers practical biblical remedies for renewal. From returning to God's Word, which "revives the soul" (Psalm 19:7), to making honest prayer a priority to the power of community and accountability, these scriptural pathways lead out of the desert. Most importantly, we're reminded that God remains faithful even in our driest seasons, often using them to deepen our hunger for Him and produce spiritual growth we wouldn't experience otherwise.
Whether in a spiritual desert or walking alongside someone who is, this episode provides the biblical perspective and practical tools needed to navigate toward renewal. Remember, spiritual dryness is not evidence of abandonment but is often part of God's sanctifying work. Questions about your own spiritual journey? Reach out to questions@pleasinggodpodcast.org and continue the conversation.
Stock Music provided by wolfgangwoehrle, from Pond5
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hi and welcome back to the Pleasing God podcast, a
show focused on helpingChristians to think biblically,
engage practically and livefaithfully for the glory of God.
I'm your host, jonathan Soul,and on this episode I want to
talk about overcoming spiritualdryness.
(00:22):
I think this is a common issuein the Christian life and might
be some that you know we don'tlike to talk about, maybe even a
kind of a taboo subject aboutgoing through spiritual dryness.
We like to show you know onSundays, when we come together
as a church, that we've goteverything kind of put together,
(00:44):
and to talk about feeling dry,barren, in the spiritual life.
It requires a level ofvulnerability that a lot of
Christians don't seem to have.
Or they look around at othersand they think, man, they got
their spiritual life together.
(01:05):
You're assuming that they'realways reading their Bible,
they're praying, they havehealthy marriages, they're
commuting with God on a regularbasis, and you might find, and
you look at your own life andsay, well, that's not true with
me.
I think the reality is thatspiritual dryness is more
prevalent and less talked aboutthan people think, and so I want
(01:27):
to focus on this subjectbecause I know it's relevant
even in my own life, even as apastor, and if I can go through
some of these things andexperience seasons of dryness,
I'm sure many other Christiansdo as well.
So I want to focus on thesubject.
I want to focus on overcomingspiritual dryness by identifying
(01:49):
what it is, what are somecommon causes, and then looking
at some biblical remedies forhow we can overcome these kind
of desert seasons or just timesof feeling barren.
And hopefully, by recording theshow and talking about this
subject, it kind of shines thelight on a rather dark area and
(02:10):
is a source of encouragement foryou as you listen and you say,
hey, I'm not alone, I'm not theonly one who's been experiencing
this dryness or feeling distantfrom God or whatever it might
be, and again, that it wouldencourage you to press on in the
Christian life.
The reality is, as I've said, isthat spiritual dryness is
(02:32):
something every believer facesat some point.
We do not always live on themountaintop and we should not
always live in the valley, butthere are times where we are at
both places.
And spiritual dryness what doesthat mean?
It feels like our prayers areempty.
You ever pray and you'reactually in the midst of praying
.
Wonder, is there any point towhat I'm doing, do my prayers
(02:58):
just bounce off the ceiling andcome back down.
They feel empty.
Bible reading becomes a duty,not a delight.
It feels just routine.
That would probably be step oneof dryness, until the point
that Bible reading becomesinfrequent and God seems distant
from you.
(03:18):
If you can relate to any ofthese three, these are symptoms
of spiritual dryness.
But I want to encourage youbecause the scriptures give us
guidance on how to rekindle ourfaith.
So, as I just said, what doesspiritual dryness look like?
Lack of prayer, sometimes it'seven apathy towards the
(03:41):
scriptures.
You read a passage of scripturethat at one point really moved
your heart.
You go back to visit thatsometime later and you just see
words on a page.
There seems to be no power, nomovement in your life when it
comes to the word of God andagain you feel distant from God.
(04:03):
Your Christianity is kind ofjust going through the motions.
You struggle with assurance.
All of these things areexamples of spiritual dryness
and but, like I said, it is notan uncommon experience among
(04:23):
Christians.
In reality it's not an uncommonexperience about anyone, from
anyone who walks with God, whoknows God.
In the scriptures we haveexamples of spiritual dryness in
God's people.
I think about the examples inscripture.
In Psalm 42, we have an exampleof one who is struggling with
(04:47):
spiritual dryness.
Familiar Psalm.
It reads as the deer pants forflowing streams, so my soul
pants for you, o God.
My soul thirsts for God, forthe living God.
So here the psalmist is sayingthere's a desire to God, there's
a hunger for God, but there'strouble, there's a dryness in
(05:08):
his life.
My tears have been my food dayand night, while they say to me
all the day long where is yourGod?
These things I remember as Ipour out my soul how I would go
with the throng and lead them inprocession to the house of God,
with glad shouts and songs ofpraise, a multitude keeping
festival.
So the psalmist here is sayingthere was once a time where
(05:31):
there was loud shouts, great joyin my life when it came among
the people of God, leading inprocession to God.
But not right now.
Verse five why are you cast down, oh my soul, and why are you in
turmoil within me?
He's having a conversation withhimself.
He is going through this barrenspiritual dryness.
(05:53):
Hope in God, for I shall againpraise him, my salvation and my
God, my soul is cast down withinme.
Therefore, I remember you fromthe land of Jordan and of Hermon
and from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep at the roarof your waterfalls.
All your breakers and yourwaves have gone over me by day,
(06:13):
the Lord commands his steadfastlove.
At night, his song is with me,a prayer to the God of my life.
I say to God, my rock, why haveyou forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning because ofthe oppression of the enemy, as
with a deadly wound in my bones?
My adversaries taunt me whilethey say to me all the day long
where is your God?
(06:34):
Why are you cast down, o mysoul, and why are you in turmoil
within me?
This is Psalm 42, is the Psalmof spiritual dryness, and the
struggle is real.
That's what I love about thePsalms is that they peel back
and give us an inner look at theinner man and the battle that
(06:56):
goes on.
Some Psalms are of great praise, lament, andrecatory.
Some are just crying out to Godin raw, real, emotional
language.
And that's what we have here isone who is going through
spiritual dryness, but again,it's not just the psalmist in
this way.
Also, elijah is another exampleof one who went through great
(07:21):
spiritual dryness In 1 Kings,chapter 19,.
This passage comes on the heelsof this great spiritual victory
where there's the showdownbetween Elijah and the prophets
of Baal, and the prophets ofBaal proved to be worshipers of
a false god.
(07:42):
And Elijah then destroys, killsthe prophets of Baal, and
there's this great sense ofvictory.
God has vindicated his name.
Elijah shows himself to be theman of God for that time, and
you think he's riding on a high.
Well, after highs come lows.
And in 1 Kings, chapter 19, weread that Ahab, who was the king
(08:05):
, told Jezebel all that Elijahhad done, how he had killed all
the prophets with the sword.
Then Jezebel sent a messengerto Elijah saying so may the gods
do to me and more also, if I donot make your life as the life
of one of them by this timetomorrow, she's threatening to
kill him for what he has done.
(08:26):
His great spiritual victory isnow turning into a difficult
season in his life.
So he was afraid and he ran.
And he arose and ran for hislife and came to Beersheba,
which belonged to Judah, andleft his servants there.
But then for Elijah, it saysbut he himself went a day's
journey into the wilderness andcame and sat down under a broom
(08:48):
tree and he asked that he mightdie, saying it is enough.
Now, o Lord, take away my life,for I am no better than my
father's.
Another dryness, another lowpoint that we see in the
scriptures of people whogenuinely love God, servants of
God walk with God.
And so if we can look at thePsalms, we can look at Elijah
(09:12):
and say these people struggledwith spiritual dryness.
The reality is so can we?
So what are some common causesof spiritual dryness that the
believer can face?
Well, first and foremost andsome of these are caused by
ourself and some of them are notthrough no fault of our own,
(09:33):
but let's just highlight a few.
One common cause of spiritualdryness is unconfessed sins.
Psalm 32, verses three throughfive, reads for when I kept
silent, my bones wasted awaythrough my groanings all day
long.
For day and night, your handwas heavy upon me.
(09:53):
My strength was dried up as theheat of summer.
I acknowledged my sin to youand I did not cover my iniquity.
I said I will confess mytransgressions to the Lord and
you forgave the iniquity of mysin.
Here, this is the season inwhich David is covering his sin
with Bathsheba, and we recognizethat unconfessed sin can lead
(10:17):
to seasons of spiritual dryness.
Another common cause for dryseasons is the neglect of
spiritual disciplines, and thisis self-inflicted.
When prayer becomes moresporadic in our lives, bible
reading is hit and miss.
When we kind of bounce in andout of fellowship, the corporate
(10:40):
worship, the gathering, andthere's no consistency of
discipline in our life, theoutcome is spiritual dryness.
There's not going to bespiritual vitality if we neglect
the means of grace that God hasgiven us for our spiritual
lives prayer, the word, thefellowship of the saints.
Another common cause isbusyness and distraction, and I
(11:03):
could record so many shows, somany episodes on this subject,
and I have done a couple becauseit's such a real thing,
especially to us in the Westernworld.
Our lives are so busy and wefill our lives with so much that
we leave very little margin.
We teeter on burnout all thetime.
So busyness and distractions,life's demands, are just pulling
(11:31):
us away from intentional timewith God.
Another common cause ofspiritual dryness, which might
be no cause to our own, istrials and suffering.
When we face trials andsuffering in this life, usually
there's two outcomes and there'stwo roads that we go down.
Trials and suffering eithermake us better or they make us
bitter.
And if they make us bitter,that's when we tend to get angry
(11:53):
at those around us.
We get angry at God and theblame game starts.
Why is this happening to me?
Woe is me.
And it becomes a martyrsyndrome, and this can lead to
spiritual dryness as we'relooking around and just kind of
wallowing in self-pity, and alsospiritual warfare.
There are times where the enemyattacks us and these attempts
(12:16):
are to weaken our faith, andsometimes they win.
Sometimes, through spiritualwarfare, we go through spiritual
dryness instead of leaning onthe word, prayer and the
fellowship of the saints.
So these are some common causes.
Well then, if we identifyspiritual dryness, we think
about common causes of it.
(12:37):
What are some biblical remedies, common causes of it?
What are some biblical remedies?
Again, you know we are tryingto think biblically, engage
practically and live faithfullyfor the glory of God.
So what does the Bible tell usof how we can engage with
biblical remedies for spiritualrenewal to come out of that dry
(12:58):
season?
Psalm 19 is a fantastic psalm toget to and think about when it
comes to seasons of dryness.
Psalm 19, verse 7, the law ofthe Lord is perfect.
Reviving the soul.
The testimony of the Lord issure, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord areright, rejoicing the heart.
(13:20):
The commandment of the Lord ispure.
Enlight wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord areright.
Rejoicing the heart, thecommandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes.
The psalmist is telling us herethat returning to the word of
God is a means, is a biblicalremedy for spiritual renewal.
It is the word of God thatrevives our soul.
So all of these statements, thelaw of the Lord, the precepts
(13:42):
of the Lord, the commandments ofthe Lord, he's saying, the
whole of scripture, the whole ofGod's word, is good and brings
about spiritual renewal.
So if you are struggling withdryness right now, return to the
word of God where God speaks toyou.
Return to the word of God whereGod speaks to you.
(14:04):
Another remedy for spiritualrenewal comes in Psalm 63.
Psalm 63, verse 1.
Now here's David once again,when he's in the wilderness of
Judea.
He writes this and says oh God,you are my God.
Earnestly I seek you, my soulthirsts for you, my flesh faints
for you, as in a dry and wearyland where there is no water.
(14:25):
Here he's saying I desire you,god.
And so, when we are in theseseasons of dryness, make honest
prayer.
The Lord knows what you'regoing through, but it is so good
for our own souls to articulateit.
So make honest prayer, bringyour dryness to God.
God, I feel distant.
(14:46):
God, I feel so barren.
My Christianity is nothing morethan just seeming like going
through the motions, like I'm acarcass Christian.
Does God not desire to answerthat prayer?
One practical, really practicalway in which we can think about
spiritual renewal is simplyconfession and repentance.
(15:09):
Oftentimes it might just bethat simple that there is
unconfessed sin in our life.
We are harboring something inour hearts and we wonder, you
know, why does God not listen tomy prayers?
Why does it feel so barren?
Because we're living withunconfessed, unresolved sin in
(15:30):
our lives.
In 1 John 1,.
If we confess our sins, he isfaithful and just to forgive us
our sins and to cleanse us fromall unrighteousness.
That's renewal.
But we must confess, we musthumble ourselves in repentance
and to turn away.
Repentance can and shouldpossibly be even a daily
(15:52):
discipline of our lives.
Here's a fourth remedy forspiritual renewal worship and
thanksgiving.
We need to shift the focus attimes from ourselves to God.
If I look and live inwardly, Ihave much room for dryness and
discouragement.
But if I can get my eyes off ofmyself, my circumstances and
(16:16):
sometimes even just how I amfeeling, and I can look outward
and upward, it makes adifference.
Psalm 100, verse 4,.
Enter his gates withthanksgiving and his courts with
praise.
Give thanks to him, bless hisname, be thankful, remember all
his benefits, preach the gospelto yourself.
(16:40):
Do it in in community, andthat's the fifth remedy for
spiritual renewal community andaccountability.
The author of hebrewsemphasizes this greatly.
In hebrews, chapter 10, verses24, 25, we read and let us
consider how to stir up oneanother to love and good works,
(17:00):
not neglecting to meet together,as is the habit of some, but
encouraging one another, and allthe more as you see the day
draw near.
This is so important.
We need to be in fellowship, incommunity and in accountability
.
A preventative measure fordryness is to have brothers or
(17:22):
sisters in your life that askyou hard questions, but not
because they're doingsurveillance.
They want to hold youaccountable, just as you hold
them accountable, and this is ameans of grace that God has
given us in the Christiancommunity.
So be a part of a local church,don't just be an attender of a
(17:42):
local church, be involved inthat church and be in
accountability relationshipswith your brothers and sisters.
It is preventative measuresagainst spiritual dryness, so,
but God is faithful.
Isaiah 41.10,.
(18:03):
Fear not, for I am with you, benot dismayed, for I am your God
.
I will strengthen you, I willhelp you, I will uphold you with
my righteous right hand.
Remember, god is faithful evenin the dry seasons of your life,
and God uses these dry seasonsfor our growth.
(18:24):
James, chapter 1,.
Count it all.
Joy, my brothers, when you facetrials of various kinds, for
you know that the testing ofyour faith produces
steadfastness, and letsteadfastness have its full
effect, that you may be perfectand complete, lacking in nothing
.
Sometimes your spiritualdryness is meant for your good,
(18:46):
so that as you go through thatseason of dryness, it creates a
greater hunger, a greater thirst, a greater longing for God, and
as you come out of that season,you are far better than you
were when you went in.
Even spiritual dryness can beused as a means to sanctify us,
(19:08):
to make us more like Jesus.
So keep pressing on, even whenyou don't feel like it.
Remember faith is about trust,not just our emotions.
So let me encourage you.
Evaluate your spiritual walk.
Think about where you are rightnow.
(19:29):
Are there things in your lifethat are contributing to dryness
?
What can you do about engagingin spiritual renewal?
What practices can you put inplace this week?
Return to the word if youhaven't Give the Lord honest
prayer, even if it's throughyour tears, and you just got to
go and hide in the closetwherever you got to go.
(19:50):
Be honest in your prayersConfession and repentance where
it's necessary.
Search my heart, o God.
Commit yourself to worship andthanksgiving even when you don't
feel like it, and do notneglect the community and
accountability that is found inGod's people.
I hope, if you are strugglingwith spiritual dryness, this is
(20:12):
a source of encouragement foryou and that you can take some
of these things, apply them inyour life so that you can walk
in a spiritual renewal and thenhelp others who are going
through this season of drynessin their life.
I want to thank you forlistening to the Pleasing God
Podcast.
If you have any questions, I'dlove to hear from you.
(20:34):
You can reach out at questionsat pleasinggodpodcastorg.
And remember 1 Thessalonians4.3,.
This is the will of God, yoursanctification.
Hi and welcome back to the Pleasing God podcast, a
show focused on helpingChristians to think biblically,
engage practically and livefaithfully for the glory of God.
I'm your host, jonathan Soul,and on this episode I want to
talk about overcoming spiritualdryness.
(00:22):
I think this is a common issuein the Christian life and might
be some that you know we don'tlike to talk about, maybe even a
kind of a taboo subject aboutgoing through spiritual dryness.
We like to show you know onSundays, when we come together
as a church, that we've goteverything kind of put together,
(00:44):
and to talk about feeling dry,barren, in the spiritual life.
It requires a level ofvulnerability that a lot of
Christians don't seem to have.
Or they look around at othersand they think, man, they got
their spiritual life together.
(01:05):
You're assuming that they'realways reading their Bible,
they're praying, they havehealthy marriages, they're
commuting with God on a regularbasis, and you might find, and
you look at your own life andsay, well, that's not true with
me.
I think the reality is thatspiritual dryness is more
prevalent and less talked aboutthan people think, and so I want
(01:27):
to focus on this subjectbecause I know it's relevant
even in my own life, even as apastor, and if I can go through
some of these things andexperience seasons of dryness,
I'm sure many other Christiansdo as well.
So I want to focus on thesubject.
I want to focus on overcomingspiritual dryness by identifying
(01:49):
what it is, what are somecommon causes, and then looking
at some biblical remedies forhow we can overcome these kind
of desert seasons or just timesof feeling barren.
And hopefully, by recording theshow and talking about this
subject, it kind of shines thelight on a rather dark area and
(02:10):
is a source of encouragement foryou as you listen and you say,
hey, I'm not alone, I'm not theonly one who's been experiencing
this dryness or feeling distantfrom God or whatever it might
be, and again, that it wouldencourage you to press on in the
Christian life.
The reality is, as I've said, isthat spiritual dryness is
(02:32):
something every believer facesat some point.
We do not always live on themountaintop and we should not
always live in the valley, butthere are times where we are at
both places.
And spiritual dryness what doesthat mean?
It feels like our prayers areempty.
You ever pray and you'reactually in the midst of praying
.
Wonder, is there any point towhat I'm doing, do my prayers
(02:58):
just bounce off the ceiling andcome back down.
They feel empty.
Bible reading becomes a duty,not a delight.
It feels just routine.
That would probably be step oneof dryness, until the point
that Bible reading becomesinfrequent and God seems distant
from you.
(03:18):
If you can relate to any ofthese three, these are symptoms
of spiritual dryness.
But I want to encourage youbecause the scriptures give us
guidance on how to rekindle ourfaith.
So, as I just said, what doesspiritual dryness look like?
Lack of prayer, sometimes it'seven apathy towards the
(03:41):
scriptures.
You read a passage of scripturethat at one point really moved
your heart.
You go back to visit thatsometime later and you just see
words on a page.
There seems to be no power, nomovement in your life when it
comes to the word of God andagain you feel distant from God.
(04:03):
Your Christianity is kind ofjust going through the motions.
You struggle with assurance.
All of these things areexamples of spiritual dryness
and but, like I said, it is notan uncommon experience among
(04:23):
Christians.
In reality it's not an uncommonexperience about anyone, from
anyone who walks with God, whoknows God.
In the scriptures we haveexamples of spiritual dryness in
God's people.
I think about the examples inscripture.
In Psalm 42, we have an exampleof one who is struggling with
(04:47):
spiritual dryness.
Familiar Psalm.
It reads as the deer pants forflowing streams, so my soul
pants for you, o God.
My soul thirsts for God, forthe living God.
So here the psalmist is sayingthere's a desire to God, there's
a hunger for God, but there'strouble, there's a dryness in
(05:08):
his life.
My tears have been my food dayand night, while they say to me
all the day long where is yourGod?
These things I remember as Ipour out my soul how I would go
with the throng and lead them inprocession to the house of God,
with glad shouts and songs ofpraise, a multitude keeping
festival.
So the psalmist here is sayingthere was once a time where
(05:31):
there was loud shouts, great joyin my life when it came among
the people of God, leading inprocession to God.
But not right now.
Verse five why are you cast down, oh my soul, and why are you in
turmoil within me?
He's having a conversation withhimself.
He is going through this barrenspiritual dryness.
(05:53):
Hope in God, for I shall againpraise him, my salvation and my
God, my soul is cast down withinme.
Therefore, I remember you fromthe land of Jordan and of Hermon
and from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep at the roarof your waterfalls.
All your breakers and yourwaves have gone over me by day,
(06:13):
the Lord commands his steadfastlove.
At night, his song is with me,a prayer to the God of my life.
I say to God, my rock, why haveyou forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning because ofthe oppression of the enemy, as
with a deadly wound in my bones?
My adversaries taunt me whilethey say to me all the day long
where is your God?
(06:34):
Why are you cast down, o mysoul, and why are you in turmoil
within me?
This is Psalm 42, is the Psalmof spiritual dryness, and the
struggle is real.
That's what I love about thePsalms is that they peel back
and give us an inner look at theinner man and the battle that
(06:56):
goes on.
Some Psalms are of great praise, lament, andrecatory.
Some are just crying out to Godin raw, real, emotional
language.
And that's what we have here isone who is going through
spiritual dryness, but again,it's not just the psalmist in
this way.
Also, elijah is another exampleof one who went through great
(07:21):
spiritual dryness In 1 Kings,chapter 19,.
This passage comes on the heelsof this great spiritual victory
where there's the showdownbetween Elijah and the prophets
of Baal, and the prophets ofBaal proved to be worshipers of
a false god.
(07:42):
And Elijah then destroys, killsthe prophets of Baal, and
there's this great sense ofvictory.
God has vindicated his name.
Elijah shows himself to be theman of God for that time, and
you think he's riding on a high.
Well, after highs come lows.
And in 1 Kings, chapter 19, weread that Ahab, who was the king
(08:05):
, told Jezebel all that Elijahhad done, how he had killed all
the prophets with the sword.
Then Jezebel sent a messengerto Elijah saying so may the gods
do to me and more also, if I donot make your life as the life
of one of them by this timetomorrow, she's threatening to
kill him for what he has done.
(08:26):
His great spiritual victory isnow turning into a difficult
season in his life.
So he was afraid and he ran.
And he arose and ran for hislife and came to Beersheba,
which belonged to Judah, andleft his servants there.
But then for Elijah, it saysbut he himself went a day's
journey into the wilderness andcame and sat down under a broom
(08:48):
tree and he asked that he mightdie, saying it is enough.
Now, o Lord, take away my life,for I am no better than my
father's.
Another dryness, another lowpoint that we see in the
scriptures of people whogenuinely love God, servants of
God walk with God.
And so if we can look at thePsalms, we can look at Elijah
(09:12):
and say these people struggledwith spiritual dryness.
The reality is so can we?
So what are some common causesof spiritual dryness that the
believer can face?
Well, first and foremost andsome of these are caused by
ourself and some of them are notthrough no fault of our own,
(09:33):
but let's just highlight a few.
One common cause of spiritualdryness is unconfessed sins.
Psalm 32, verses three throughfive, reads for when I kept
silent, my bones wasted awaythrough my groanings all day
long.
For day and night, your handwas heavy upon me.
(09:53):
My strength was dried up as theheat of summer.
I acknowledged my sin to youand I did not cover my iniquity.
I said I will confess mytransgressions to the Lord and
you forgave the iniquity of mysin.
Here, this is the season inwhich David is covering his sin
with Bathsheba, and we recognizethat unconfessed sin can lead
(10:17):
to seasons of spiritual dryness.
Another common cause for dryseasons is the neglect of
spiritual disciplines, and thisis self-inflicted.
When prayer becomes moresporadic in our lives, bible
reading is hit and miss.
When we kind of bounce in andout of fellowship, the corporate
(10:40):
worship, the gathering, andthere's no consistency of
discipline in our life, theoutcome is spiritual dryness.
There's not going to bespiritual vitality if we neglect
the means of grace that God hasgiven us for our spiritual
lives prayer, the word, thefellowship of the saints.
Another common cause isbusyness and distraction, and I
(11:03):
could record so many shows, somany episodes on this subject,
and I have done a couple becauseit's such a real thing,
especially to us in the Westernworld.
Our lives are so busy and wefill our lives with so much that
we leave very little margin.
We teeter on burnout all thetime.
So busyness and distractions,life's demands, are just pulling
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us away from intentional timewith God.
Another common cause ofspiritual dryness, which might
be no cause to our own, istrials and suffering.
When we face trials andsuffering in this life, usually
there's two outcomes and there'stwo roads that we go down.
Trials and suffering eithermake us better or they make us
bitter.
And if they make us bitter,that's when we tend to get angry
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at those around us.
We get angry at God and theblame game starts.
Why is this happening to me?
Woe is me.
And it becomes a martyrsyndrome, and this can lead to
spiritual dryness as we'relooking around and just kind of
wallowing in self-pity, and alsospiritual warfare.
There are times where the enemyattacks us and these attempts
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are to weaken our faith, andsometimes they win.
Sometimes, through spiritualwarfare, we go through spiritual
dryness instead of leaning onthe word, prayer and the
fellowship of the saints.
So these are some common causes.
Well then, if we identifyspiritual dryness, we think
about common causes of it.
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What are some biblical remedies, common causes of it?
What are some biblical remedies?
Again, you know we are tryingto think biblically, engage
practically and live faithfullyfor the glory of God.
So what does the Bible tell usof how we can engage with
biblical remedies for spiritualrenewal to come out of that dry
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season?
Psalm 19 is a fantastic psalm toget to and think about when it
comes to seasons of dryness.
Psalm 19, verse 7, the law ofthe Lord is perfect.
Reviving the soul.
The testimony of the Lord issure, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord areright, rejoicing the heart.
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The commandment of the Lord ispure.
Enlight wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord areright.
Rejoicing the heart, thecommandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes.
The psalmist is telling us herethat returning to the word of
God is a means, is a biblicalremedy for spiritual renewal.
It is the word of God thatrevives our soul.
So all of these statements, thelaw of the Lord, the precepts
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of the Lord, the commandments ofthe Lord, he's saying, the
whole of scripture, the whole ofGod's word, is good and brings
about spiritual renewal.
So if you are struggling withdryness right now, return to the
word of God where God speaks toyou.
Return to the word of God whereGod speaks to you.
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Another remedy for spiritualrenewal comes in Psalm 63.
Psalm 63, verse 1.
Now here's David once again,when he's in the wilderness of
Judea.
He writes this and says oh God,you are my God.
Earnestly I seek you, my soulthirsts for you, my flesh faints
for you, as in a dry and wearyland where there is no water.
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Here he's saying I desire you,god.
And so, when we are in theseseasons of dryness, make honest
prayer.
The Lord knows what you'regoing through, but it is so good
for our own souls to articulateit.
So make honest prayer, bringyour dryness to God.
God, I feel distant.
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God, I feel so barren.
My Christianity is nothing morethan just seeming like going
through the motions, like I'm acarcass Christian.
Does God not desire to answerthat prayer?
One practical, really practicalway in which we can think about
spiritual renewal is simplyconfession and repentance.
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Oftentimes it might just bethat simple that there is
unconfessed sin in our life.
We are harboring something inour hearts and we wonder, you
know, why does God not listen tomy prayers?
Why does it feel so barren?
Because we're living withunconfessed, unresolved sin in
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our lives.
In 1 John 1,.
If we confess our sins, he isfaithful and just to forgive us
our sins and to cleanse us fromall unrighteousness.
That's renewal.
But we must confess, we musthumble ourselves in repentance
and to turn away.
Repentance can and shouldpossibly be even a daily
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discipline of our lives.
Here's a fourth remedy forspiritual renewal worship and
thanksgiving.
We need to shift the focus attimes from ourselves to God.
If I look and live inwardly, Ihave much room for dryness and
discouragement.
But if I can get my eyes off ofmyself, my circumstances and
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sometimes even just how I amfeeling, and I can look outward
and upward, it makes adifference.
Psalm 100, verse 4,.
Enter his gates withthanksgiving and his courts with
praise.
Give thanks to him, bless hisname, be thankful, remember all
his benefits, preach the gospelto yourself.
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Do it in in community, andthat's the fifth remedy for
spiritual renewal community andaccountability.
The author of hebrewsemphasizes this greatly.
In hebrews, chapter 10, verses24, 25, we read and let us
consider how to stir up oneanother to love and good works,
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not neglecting to meet together,as is the habit of some, but
encouraging one another, and allthe more as you see the day
draw near.
This is so important.
We need to be in fellowship, incommunity and in accountability
.
A preventative measure fordryness is to have brothers or
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sisters in your life that askyou hard questions, but not
because they're doingsurveillance.
They want to hold youaccountable, just as you hold
them accountable, and this is ameans of grace that God has
given us in the Christiancommunity.
So be a part of a local church,don't just be an attender of a
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local church, be involved inthat church and be in
accountability relationshipswith your brothers and sisters.
It is preventative measuresagainst spiritual dryness, so,
but God is faithful.
Isaiah 41.10,.
(18:03):
Fear not, for I am with you, benot dismayed, for I am your God
.
I will strengthen you, I willhelp you, I will uphold you with
my righteous right hand.
Remember, god is faithful evenin the dry seasons of your life,
and God uses these dry seasonsfor our growth.
(18:24):
James, chapter 1,.
Count it all.
Joy, my brothers, when you facetrials of various kinds, for
you know that the testing ofyour faith produces
steadfastness, and letsteadfastness have its full
effect, that you may be perfectand complete, lacking in nothing
.
Sometimes your spiritualdryness is meant for your good,
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so that as you go through thatseason of dryness, it creates a
greater hunger, a greater thirst, a greater longing for God, and
as you come out of that season,you are far better than you
were when you went in.
Even spiritual dryness can beused as a means to sanctify us,
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to make us more like Jesus.
So keep pressing on, even whenyou don't feel like it.
Remember faith is about trust,not just our emotions.
So let me encourage you.
Evaluate your spiritual walk.
Think about where you are rightnow.
(19:29):
Are there things in your lifethat are contributing to dryness
?
What can you do about engagingin spiritual renewal?
What practices can you put inplace this week?
Return to the word if youhaven't Give the Lord honest
prayer, even if it's throughyour tears, and you just got to
go and hide in the closetwherever you got to go.
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Be honest in your prayersConfession and repentance where
it's necessary.
Search my heart, o God.
Commit yourself to worship andthanksgiving even when you don't
feel like it, and do notneglect the community and
accountability that is found inGod's people.
I hope, if you are strugglingwith spiritual dryness, this is
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a source of encouragement foryou and that you can take some
of these things, apply them inyour life so that you can walk
in a spiritual renewal and thenhelp others who are going
through this season of drynessin their life.
I want to thank you forlistening to the Pleasing God
Podcast.
If you have any questions, I'dlove to hear from you.
(20:34):
You can reach out at questionsat pleasinggodpodcastorg.
And remember 1 Thessalonians4.3,.
This is the will of God, yoursanctification.
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