We’ve hit that time of year in southern Missouri where gray is the predominant color of things. The harvest has long been gathered from all the area farmland, the trees have shed their colorful leaves, and the sun seems paler each day as we barrel towards the winter months. Because it’s so flat in this part of Missouri, it’s hard to see the horizon sometimes. Everything seems gray and a little bleak. It’s challenging to look at creation in this corner of the world and feel much that evokes awe and praise. Why did the Lord create a season where everything seems to be dead? Winter seems like a thing to simply survive. But, the dark, cold seasons don’t have to be merely survived and forgotten. There’s much to learn from a season that feels lifeless or void of growth.
We have seasons like this as Christians. You’ve been there, I’m sure. You probably don’t even know why or how you got there. Things were going fine until one day you noticed you didn’t feel the same fervor for the Lord that you usually do. Perhaps your heart feels cold. Or dry. Dull. Apathetic. Or as my friend, Dora, calls it—flat. Spiritual dry spells can hit us when we least expect, and they can last longer than we thought possible. Maybe you’re doing all the “right” things: reading your Bible, trying to pray, going to church as usual. Yet, you feel far from the Lord. Your heart just won’t engage. What do we do with these spiritual slumps that flatten out our affection for the Lord? Can any good come from them?
You May Not Know the Why
We like to know the reasons for things. We want to be able to explain the why behind circumstances or God’s plans for our lives—as though knowing everything will somehow make it go down easier. We can swallow a trial, endure intense suffering, persevere through loss if we know why it happened. Similarly, we might try to search out the reasons for a spiritual dry spell. Is there unconfessed sin I didn’t know about? Is God punishing me? What did I do wrong? We work through the questions, trying to parse out a meaning for our apathy. If we can decipher the problem, maybe we can fix it. Maybe we can get around it. Rush through it. Anything to circumvent the emotional void.
It’s true that some dry spells come because of sin. Sometimes we experience flattened emotions towards the Lord because we are too absorbed in the world, because our days are too saturated with entertainment, because our time in Scripture is minimized by our spent time scrolling, swiping, and amusing ourselves. If you can easily pinpoint those areas as problematic for you right now, you might have your why. And then you can chart a path forward to change things: confess, repent, change your habits, fix your gaze on Jesus, feed your soul with what it needs to thrive.
But you might already be doing those things and still experience a spiritual slump. And that’s where you’ll have to relinquish the desire to know why and simply press forward through your dry spell. The Lord has something for you in it, I can guarantee you. He is not in the business of wasting things.
The Blessing of the Dry Spell
The only way through a season of spiritual flatness is through it. You might say, “I’ll wait and read my Bible when I feel inspired again. It’s useless to read it when I don’t feel anything. Going through the motions isn’t genuine.” But if you wait until you “feel inspired,” you may never pick up your Bible again. In fact, it is the act of picking up your Bible when you don’t want to that will eventually stir up those feelings of inspiration! The Word will eventually have its way with you. Your heart will thaw. The apathy will dissipate. Your affections for the Lord will be warmed because His Word will shape your heart as you faithfully read and ask for Him to awaken your love for Him.
Going through the motions doesn’t have to be a legalistic process. Going through the motions can be an act of faith and obedience—delighting in God’s Word when your heart just isn’t in it. When you persevere in prayer and reading the Bible, you are teaching your heart to delight in Him. This is how you learn perseverance: by pressing forward when you don’t want to. You won’t learn it any other way. And in this, spiritual slumps can be opportunities to learn steadfastness. An opportunity to learn faithfulness is a gift that will prepare you for future trials and sufferings when the stakes are much higher.
What to Do When You’re in a Slump?
Read and pray. Keep reading your Bible, even if you struggle to connect the words to your life. The Lord’s Word does not return void. His Word is eternal and true and powerful. Keep saturating your dry heart with truth. Keep praying, even if it seems that the Lord is far. He isn’t far at all. His Spirit is living in you whether or not you feel that He is. Staying in the Word will help you fight the lie that the Lord is far from you.
Bring others in. Whatever we struggle with in the darkness loses some of its power when we bring it into the light. Tell a friend, pastor, or fellow church member about your spiritual dry spell. Have them pray for you and with you. Chances are, they’ll have wisdom and encouragement to share for they, too, have experienced such seasons. If you’re not involved in a weekly Bible study or prayer group, join one. The more time you spend with other believers, the more encouragement you’ll receive to persevere through your dry spell. The church is a gift to your perseverance.
Read Christian biographies. Reading the stories of saints who have walked with Christ in the past always helps me to see my purpose and mission as a believer more clearly today. I’ve recently been reading a book about women who faithfully served the Lord with their lives, and it has greatly helped me to refocus my gaze on Christ and His kingdom. I find such encouragement reading about regular, unremarkable believers who persevered through their own doubts and dry seasons and who finished their race with joy. If you’re feeling dry or apathetic, try a book from this list of biographies. I’ve read and commend them all.
Don’t give up. The Lord can cultivate faithfulness in your life no matter the season you’re in. And He has good purposes to make you more like Jesus no matter what. He has promised to sanctify you, and He always keeps His promises. If your heart feels cold, dry, apathetic, lifeless—remember that you have been saved, justified, sanctified, and (one day) glorified. You are loved by the Father who sent His Son for you. Don’t give up during this spiritual slump. Don’t try to circumvent the lesson of faithfulness God might be teaching you. Press forward and believe the truth: the Lord is making you new.
Don’t give up during this spiritual slump. Don't try to circumvent the lesson of faithfulness God might be teaching you. Press forward and believe the truth: the Lord is making you new. Share on XPhoto by Fabrice Villard on Unsplash
Glenna Marshall is married to her pastor, William, and lives in rural Southeast Missouri where she tries and fails to keep up with her two energetic sons. She is the author of The Promise is His Presence (P&R) and Everyday Faithfulness (Crossway), and Memorizing Scripture (Moody). Connect with her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.