There are times when connecting with God comes easily. And then there are those times when the connection grows weak or just cuts off. As a spiritual director, men come to see me because they are in a season of spiritual dryness and confused about how to proceed. How to do that all depends on the cause. So here are three different causes for spiritual dryness. See which one connects to your own experience.
1. It’s a God-given season of desolation.
In a season of desolation, prayer becomes stale. Scripture reading tastes like cardboard. Worship and communion feel lifeless. Other ways of experiencing God that once brought joy now seem dead on arrival.
In classical terms, consolations are the experiences that move you toward God, while desolations move you away. Typically, desolations are sin patterns or unhealthy ways of responding to life. But the twist here is that this season of desolation is a gift from God. How could something that drives us away from Him be a gift from Him as well?
God gives these seasons to grow us and teach us a number of good things. One of them is that all consolation is also a gift from Him as well. It’s not really our daily habits of prayer, meditation, or Bible reading that connect us to Him. These are just the tools that position us. The Holy Spirit makes the connection possible. We learn that faith is no formula, but a relationship with the living God. He is always the initiator that opens the door for us to come close.
What helps in a season of desolation? First, remember that these seasons always come to an end, and consolation will return. Second, don’t make big decisions during this time or change decisions that you made in a season of consolation. Third, continue in your spiritual practices even though they don’t seem to help. There are things happening as you do this that will come to fruition later.
2. Something in you is the cause.
Let’s face it. We can be the responsible party for the dryness. Holding a grudge can fog our connection with the Lord. Or we can fall into blatant sin, such as adultery, drunkenness, or constant lying. We shut the door here on our relationship with God. Or it can be more subtle and private: an addiction to pornography or a prideful spirit. Finally, we can just be resistant or disobedient to something God has asked us to walk in.
What helps here is obvious. The dryness will continue until we push the obstacle out of the way. We may need to offer forgiveness, or make a confession to a trusted friend, or seek restitution for damage we have done, or ask for help from a mentor. Whatever the case, we need to come clean before God with our own repentance. When we turn back to God, we will find open arms and a fullness of life that ends the dryness.
3. You are in transition as a beloved son.
This one may sound odd. Yet it is one I find in men who come to me for spiritual direction. Here’s how it happens. The way in which you have prayed and typically approached God is not working anymore. It can be very confusing until you realize that you are in transition. I see this often in younger men. You are still a beloved son in the Father’s eyes, but He is asking you to leave behind old ways of being with Him and inviting you into newer and deeper ways. You are being asked to grow up as a son.
What are those newer and deeper ways? It could be a call into learning to be silent with God. It could be an invitation into prayer as dialogue instead of monologue. It could be using music, drawing, images, or your own imagination that opens that fresh connection with God.
What helps here? This is where a spiritual director can be so helpful. When I sense this transition taking place, I will offer a couple of suggestions, depending on the individual. What seemed confusing now becomes hopeful and even exciting. Walking with God is the great adventure, and there is always new territory to explore.
Closing Thoughts
If you would like to talk more about the spiritual dryness in your life, seek out help from someone you trust. You can also contact me for a conversation about spiritual direction.
We all go through times of spiritual dryness for various reasons. Consider all of them a chance to find God again, often in new ways. Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. If we are willing, He will walk us through the dryness into the verdant fields of His presence where He will restore our souls.
Bill
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