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As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.
Psalm 42:1
I love my walks to the gym especially because I get to enjoy God’s creation – the blue skies, lush green grass, fresh air and glimpses of the blue green sea that surrounds my island in the distance. But on one of my recent walks home, I noticed the once lush green pastures that I pass each day were turning dry and brown. There was also the faint smell of smoke in the air.
Here the Caribbean we have two seasons – the wet season and the dry season. We’re currently in the dry season and with it comes grass fires. Some of them are set deliberately but in most cases, the tropical sun combined with a parched land and a piece of broken glass or shiny metal is enough to ignite a dry field with no help.
As I noticed that slight scent of smoke in the air from the latest grass fire, I heard the Holy Spirit say, “Your dry places are ripe for ignition”.
We all go through seasons of dryness. Seasons where we can’t hear from God we used to. Seasons when we feel stuck and can’t figure out where God wants us to go. Seasons when we’re restless and it’s hard to read the Word or spend time with God. Nobody wants to be in a dry place for very long.
Holy Spirit also reminded me of one of my favorite worship songs – As the Deer by Matt Gilman. I had just started listening to it again, and it reminded me of a time, more than a decade ago, when I was a new Christian and so on fire for God. But then, as I thought about it a little more, I realized the deer will only ever pant when it’s thirsty… when its mouth is dry. It has to come to that dry place before it even thinks about seeking water. You have to get to that dry place before your longing for God becomes so much that it’s all you think about and it’s all you want.
God operates in cycles. To go from glory to glory you have to move through each cycle and go from level to level. Don’t beat yourself up if you find yourself in a dry season. Maybe there’s a reason you’re there. The dryness you are experiencing could be a sign that you are moving to another level. What satisfied your thirst on the previous level will not be enough to satisfy your thirst for God to take you to the next level. God is calling you deeper; calling you higher. Encouraging you to thirst after Him on another level.
Don’t be frustrated with the dryness. Look to Him to quench your thirst. He says He will never leave you nor forsake you. That means that even though you feel dry, He is still there. But He wants you to seek after Him deliberately. Invite Holy Spirit into your dry places. Ask Him to ignite them and set you on fire again.
Deborah Ruck @ As Bold As THE Lion blog
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