SPIRITUAL DRYNESS

"ARE YOU GOING THROUGH A SPIRITUAL DRYNESS ? 
"HONESTLY I WAS...."
(My dryness just disappeared....dryness can only be stopped by the DEW OF HIS GLORY, oh yes it was his GLORY that fell in the sanctuary today, his light was shining upon me, his GLORY is magnificent and cannot be defined, when his GLORY FALLS it is GOD who comes down with his POWER and DWELLS in us in the form of the HOLY SPIRIT)

I BLOG often, yet recently there were times I felt so very dry - so far away from the warm presence of God. To be precise since Friday 20/07/12. In such moments of dryness, I had no great yearning to read the Word - the reading of the Bible was done mostly through a sense of obligation. When I'm dry and empty, I feel little compulsion to pray. I know my faith is intact, and my love for Jesus is strong. There is no desire in me to taste the things of this world. It's just that I can't seem to touch God in those days and weeks of spiritual dryness.


But God works in different ways, he is there for you and with you when Satan is busy preparing a hedge of evil around you. I was reminded during the Monday Bible study about the scripture that I used to daily claim every morning - Isaiah 61:1, again on Tuesday during the Church minister training, Pastor Vincent Rajendra taught us that before we open our BIBLES ask the Lord to give you a scripture, it is not necessary to read 5 to 10 chapters. Read little but meditate on that word. I did exactly that today-Wednesday 25/07/12. I asked the Lord to give me the word, when I opened the Bible he give me the word and I meditated, the awesome power of God engulfed me and I was revived. My dryness just disappeared....dryness can only be stopped by the DEW OF HIS GLORY, oh yes it was his GLORY that fell in the sanctuary today, his light was shining upon me, his GLORY is magnificent and cannot be defined, when his GLORY FALLS it is GOD who comes down with his POWER and DWELLS in us in the form of the HOLY SPIRIT.......but if you have or are going through a similar situation please read on......

Have you ever sat in church and watched those all around you getting blessed, while you feel nothing? They cry; they pray; they worship with tremendous feelings. But you are not moved upon - at all. You begin to wonder if there is something wrong with your spiritual life. Christians all around you are telling these great stories about how God is blessing them and answering all their prayers. They seem to live on a mountaintop of happy experiences, while you just plod along, loving Jesus, but not setting the world on fire. Some of your prayers have still not been answered. You don't shout or put on an emotional display. You have no big stories to tell about some fantastic miracle you've witnessed. It almost makes you feel like a second-class believer.

I believe that all true believers experience dry spells at various times in their Christian life. Even Jesus felt the isolation - when He cried aloud. "Father, why have you forsaken me?"

MY OWN NOTES: (These could be your own situations and circumstances or rather similar reasons)

• I wonder why God seems so distant at times. Is He angry with me? Does He have to hide from me because of failure in my life? Is God holding back on me in some way, bound by a contract in His Holy Word that demands He closes His eyes in my direction because of my stubbornness?
• Does sin cause a separation? Is God really there, wanting to break through to me with overwhelming joy and peace - but unable to because of a barrier I have constructed as a result of a besetting sin? Must He hide - against His own will - because he honors His Word above His name? He hid from Israel in times of backsliding. Must He hide from me for awhile, until I see the horror of my sins and run from them?
• Or is all of this dryness a result of my own blindness? Is it just a result of living on feelings? Is He there all the time, in spite of my failure, waiting for me to accept His forgiveness? Do I feel isolated only because I'm ashamed and burdened with guilt? Do I shun Him because I know I'm unworthy of his blessings? Has the knowledge of my weaknesses made me believe I have no right to expect this nearness and comfort?
• Without the nearness of God, there can be no peace. The dryness can be stopped only with the dew of His glory. The despair can be dispelled only by the assurance God is answering. The fire of the Holy Ghost must heat the mind, body and soul.
• I want God's total presence. I want to flow in His river of love. I want complete forgiveness of all my sins. But more than forgiveness - I want freedom. What is forgiveness without freedom? I know the Lord has promised to forgive me seven times seven in a single day. I know His love and forgiveness is to all generations. I know that if I confess my sins, He is faithful and just to forgive - and to cleanse me. But it is not enough to be forgiven and cleansed from yesterday's sins. I need freedom from the power of the sin that so easily besets me. Freedom from the slavery of all passions. Freedom from the chains of all iniquity.
• I know God's Word promises freedom. I know the many Scriptures that talk of "walking in the Spirit," so as not to fulfill the lusts of the flesh. I know about the warnings to flee all lusts of the flesh. Other Scriptures flood my mind about "overcoming" the world. But there are times I don't seem to find the key. How do these verses work in a practical way in my everyday life? What does it really mean to "walk in the spirit"? Does that mean you will never fall again? A child keeps falling while learning to walk. Even adults stumble and fall. Can you fall - even while walking in the Spirit - get up and walk again - getting stronger as you go?
• But God, You've got to be there! If you are not there in my time of dryness, there is no hope. You must be there, calling for me - longing for my voice - yearning over me as a father pities his child. If not - life has no meaning.
• But, in spite of all that, somehow I know He is not far off. Somehow, I hear a distinct small voice calling, "Come, my child - I am aware of all you are experiencing. I still love you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. We will face it all together. I am still your Father - and you are My child. Come, not on your merits or goodness, but come on the merits of your Savior - Jesus the Lord!"
• Somehow I know He will bring me out of this dry spell. I have in me a flame that will not be smothered. I seem to know the promises will be fulfilled. In His time, in His way, He will turn my dryness into a river of love. His word will come to me. A new revelation of His will. A renewed spirit and a greater peace of mind. All because He has never failed me once before.
• Oh God! I have feet of clay. My mind is strong in faith. My heart melts for You. My tears are hot with desire for the touch of the Lord. But my feet keep taking me astray. I am not walking in the Spirit as I would honestly like to. Where is that day-by-day victory? Where is the power to keep myself holy and pure?
• God, I search the Scripture, hoping to find a formula - a way out of the bondage of sin. If it means staying on my knees all night, then I'll do it. Does it mean reading my Bible through - until I stumble on a clear message of deliverance? Then I'll read and read! 
• Somewhere there has to be victory over all the power of the enemy. Somewhere I can put aside the weight, the burden, the harassment. God promises total freedom, total victory over the power of the enemy. Someday my foot will no longer be snared in Satan's trap. Someday I'll look into my heart and see only Jesus - only holiness - only those things pleasing to God.
• My desires can often be very morally bad. There is an entire breed of desires lurking beneath the surface, pushed upon us all constantly by our Adam nature - always breaking into the mind, mingling with our deepest and holiest thoughts, trying to make the mind accept them as God's thoughts.
• Very often, my personal desires are so dominate, so deeply imbedded, they invade my mind in the secret closet. They become so powerful and persistent, I allow them to deceive me into accepting them as the still small voice of God in the inner man. May God keep me from the deception of my own immoral desires.

PRAYER

Dear Heavenly Father I put my request to your THRONE OF GRACE asking you to provide me with answers to What Shall I Do To Overcome Spiritual Dryness? You are a prayer answering GOD. You will hear my cry and I will walk out victoriously in all my situations.............send me that DEW of YOUR GLORY to turn my dryness.....I make this prayer in the MIGHTY NAME of JESUS.........AMEN