This summer, I’m really looking forward to sandboarding in the Al Khatim desert. There’s something exhilarating about racing down those massive dunes. Yet the same desert that offers so much thrill is also a place of extreme barrenness; dry, harsh, and seemingly lifeless. Sometimes our faith feels exactly like that desert.
There are seasons when our spiritual life is vibrant and joyful. God’s Word seems alive, prayer flows easily, and worship stirs our hearts deeply. But there are also dry seasons when faith feels painfully barren. Our prayers grow weak, Scripture becomes difficult to engage with, and worship turns into duty rather than delight. We can feel spiritually sluggish, numb, or apathetic toward the things of God.
We find ourselves at church, singing the songs and listening to sermons, yet our hearts seem distant. We wonder whether something is wrong with us, or worse, whether God has withdrawn. Spiritual dryness can leave us discouraged and guilty, especially when others seem full of passion while we quietly struggle. Yet spiritual dryness is not unusual in the Christian life. The psalmists often cried out in seasons where God felt distant.
Dry seasons teach us to walk by faith, not by sight,
Dryness can happen for many reasons. Sometimes it comes through suffering, grief, disappointment, exhaustion, or simply living in a fallen world. At other times, it may expose hidden sin, distraction, or self-reliance in our hearts. God allows dry seasons not to push us away, but to deepen our dependence on him.
The great danger is not the dryness itself, but the temptation to drift (Heb. 2:1). When we feel spiritually empty, we can slowly withdraw from the very things God uses to sustain us: prayer, Scripture, and Christian community.
In these seasons, we often look inward, anxiously analysing our emotions to measure how close we are to God. But our relationship with him is not sustained by the strength of our feelings, but by the faithfulness of Christ. Dry seasons teach us to walk by faith, not by sight, and reveal whether our trust rests on fluctuating emotions or on the finished work of Jesus.
Thankfully, we have a great high priest who sympathises with our weakness. Jesus understands our weariness and the fragility of our faith. He invites us to “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence” so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Heb 4:15-16).
If you are in a dry season, take heart: your Saviour has not abandoned you. Anchor yourself to Jesus by continuing to open God’s Word, even when it feels lifeless. Keep praying, even when the words feel weak. Keep gathering with God’s people, even when you feel weary.
Remember God’s promise, “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil 1:6) Trust that the Holy Spirit is still at work within you, and keep fixing your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.
