“How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?” (Psalm 13:1)
Dry seasons, seasons when the Lord is quiet, extended times when He hides His face from us. Unless the Lord is using you for His glory, you do not know these times. I do not mean that each member of the body of Christ is not useful, but there are many that are unprofitable, and they do not understand, perhaps yet perhaps never, what it means to be used by the Lord, to hear His voice clearly, and then to sit and wait in the silence as He withdraws Himself for a season.
Showers of blessings my friends do not fall in those dry seasons.
It is like being in limbo, the knowledge of the assurance of our salvation is still there, but on the path there is a mist, and although we do not fear to walk into it, we see nothing of what is ahead.
“And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.” (Exo. 33:15) Moses was clear here, trying to move forward without the leadership and guidance of the Lord God is futile, it is in a sense a chair on the path that we are told to sit on and wait. There is a sense of loneliness that is inexpressible, it is a place of forced patience, and I fear that many have gotten up from that chair before they were supposed to.
Steps of faith that can be verified in the Scriptures are easy to take, those that we are confident in, for the Word of God makes them clear. But there are times, those times when the dry season appears, that even those steps can lead us off the path that we are to be on. Any efforts that we take in these times will most likely not be profitable for we will attempt to do them on our own.
Others will stay on that chair, trying to figure out if they have sinned, if they have committed an offence against the Lord, and when He calls them again from that place, they will miss His calling.
The dry seasons are there for a reason, to help us to see just how much we need Him, and just how little we can do without Him. “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” (John 15:4)
Prayer and patience, holding firmly onto the foundation of our salvation, holding tightly onto the Rock, waiting for Him to return and once again begin to lead us in the paths of righteousness. Think on the ten who waited for the bridegroom, did you bring enough oil for these days, or are you going to leave and perhaps miss His return. A dry and thirsty land begs for preparation before one enters into it my friends.
Every man of God will go through this land, his pen will begin to fail, the sermons will lack the power of the Holy Spirit, the words will seem almost forced, but he will find patience here. He is not forsaken, only left to contemplate more deeply his need for the Savior. The old saying is true, we do not know what we have until we lose it, but we have not lost Him, and He has not forsaken us.
Sometimes we need to feel a need, a great thirst, before we can appreciate fully the living waters that He offers, and when He returns to us, that water, and His presence is even sweeter.
