Thriving in the Dry Spells | Lifter Today

“April showers bring May flowers.” As clich├⌐ as the phrase may be, it is usually 100% accurate. The colors change, the grass is more luscious, and it smells of flowers and allergies when you walk at the door. Spring is a beautiful time for re-birth and refreshment, a season of brightness and joy filled with picnics, backyard hang outs, and sundresses.

There is something about Spring that seems to overtake people and make them fill hopeful and ready to take on the world with new energy.

But what happens when your own personal April doesn’t see rain, but instead is a season of dryness and darkness? What if your April held sickness, and shame, and sorrow? What if your April brought loss instead of life? How do you come out of that smelling like the roses and daises that are surrounding you? It may seem daunting, if not impossible, to thrive without the showering of heavenly rain upon you. It may seem like you will shrivel up and wilt under the heavy burning of the heat with no respite. It may seem lonely and barren in your heart as you desperately long for refreshment.

When dry seasons come, it is so easy to complain and wallow and blame anyone in the vicinity for the situation you find yourself in. That reaction is valid, and human, and understandable. Famed author A.W Tozer said it best:

“Probably nothing else bothers the earnest Christian quite so much as the problem of those dry spells that come to him occasionally, no matter how faithfully he tries to obey God and walk in the light. He can never predict them and he cannot always explain them. And there lies the difficulty.”

So, first and foremost, know that your dry spell is only temporary just as a drought does not last forever.

They are unpredictable, just as the weather cannot be controlled or fully known. Aridity comes and goes and no amount of will changes that. So, first and foremost, know that your dry spell is only temporary just as a drought does not last forever. Know that just because it is dry does not mean it is over, there is life still inside of you that will thrive in full force. But also know, the Lord will bring the rain in His time and in His way. The floods of His grace and mercy are a gift to us and he bestows that gift in his perfect time.

So as you await your downpour, press in to the Lord and rely on his strength and comfort to lead your spirit until you have regained your strength and be patient.

“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.” James 5:7-8