Spiritually Dry in a Parched Land

Lately, I have been feeling spiritually dry, and I have been missing the seasons in my life where I could hear God clearly at every turn, even though life had been full of roadblocks.  This dryness did not just happen, but gradually crept in as the cares of this world burdened my soul.  My perspective of the refiner’s fire has become skewed and although I hypocritically tell folks not to quit the fire, I am ready to give up as God walks me through these intense flames that make this parched land even more torrid and tortuous adding to my torment.

I have been meditating on this verse that I gave my children in the discipleship program to memorize. You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. Psalms 63:1 NIV

There is a longing in my soul for God as I look around for a place of spiritual refreshment, which seems to be a scarcity these days. Therefore, I have had to dig deep to seek God and worship Him, knowing that He inhabits the praises of His people, and I want to be His habitation. I desire to be the place where His Spirit is welcome.  Although most times, my being His dwelling place may not look too inviting because of my constant whining and complaining.  Hey, at least I am confessing it, and confession is good for the soul.

David underwent many hardships during his lifetime. Constantly on the run from those who were close to him.  He hid out in caves and faced overwhelming circumstances, yet he did not remain defeated spiritually. He was an overcomer and looked to the Lord to turn his mourning into dancing, and to remove his sackcloth and give him joy instead (see Psalm 30:11). David knew how to praise his Lord, notwithstanding the dryness and weariness of the land. 

O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water.  Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.  Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You.  So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.  My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.  When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches,  For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. Psalms 63:1-7 NASB

 I usually put a video of one of my poems in my posts, 

but I figured this video would be much more appropriate.

I have had to let this entire passage sink into the depths of my soul.  I want that marrow and fatness that David had because it is the fatness that breaks the yokes.  So it will be in that day, that his burden will be removed from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be broken because of fatness. Isaiah 10:27

But notice, this fatness occurs in the midst of David seeing God’s power and glory, and knowing that His lovingkindness is better than life.  His lips were praising the Lord and his hands were lifted in worship, albeit, the land was still dry and weary, and there was no water.  But, David yearned for the Living Water and he found Him in his praise and in his nightly meditations, where the Lord was his help and protection. 

So in my dry and parched land, I will lift tired hands to worship the Lord and praise Him with every ounce of energy I have left from my lips.  I will continue seeking Him earnestly to guide me through the fiery furnace as I hold on and not give up, knowing that if I persevere, streams of Living Water will flow out of my belly and refresh others.  I want to be like the ones in Revelation 7 who come out of the great tribulation having washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  I just realized they were the ones doing the washing.  I choose to wash my robe and make it white in the blood of the Lamb, but this can only be done through the purifying of suffering.  This isn’t easy, but that is why I must stick to the Lord, because there isn’t anything too hard for Him. 

And, I know that if we all persevere through the tribulation, we will triumph and we will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on us, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be our shepherd, and will guide us to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from our eyes. (Revelations 7:15-16)

Our land may be parched and wearisome right now, but we have a hope in things not seeing, knowing that the Lord, even though things may look dried up at this time, will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys and turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. Isaiah 41:18 NIV

Freedom and Favor in the Fire

God is a good God no matter how hard things get. We may feel like we are in the fire, but the fire is only there to make us as pure as gold. The fire itself is God’s favor on our lives. And, once God is with us we will be free in the fire.

Then these men were tied up in their trousers, their coats, their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. For this reason, because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, “Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?” They replied to the king, “Certainly, O king.” He said, “Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!” Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire. The satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king’s high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them. Daniel 3:21-27 (NASB)

Wow!!! Where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17). These three Hebrew boys were bound and put into the fiery furnace, which was turned up seven times hotter than usual because they would not bow to the idol images in Babylon. The soldiers who brought them in were killed by the fire, but they were untouched. When the king looked he saw four men and the fourth looked like the son of gods. When Jesus walks with us in the fire there is freedom, because no longer were these men tied up, but they were loose walking in the fire. They had confidence that their God would save them. And, He did. But, even if they were not saved, they were willing to face the fire, and die because they would not prostrate themselves before any other idol gods. They walked in the fire free because they believed in the Most High God.

When they came out of the fire, God got the glory. The king praised the God of these men and decreed that no one should speak anything against their God, because no other god is able to deliver in this way. Shadrach, Meshach and Aben-dego had favor in the fire. Consequently, people near and far understood that their God was mighty and real. You see, the fire glorifies God when we come out unsinged and not even smelling of smoke, so don’t fear the fire. Rejoice when the testings come because they are not without purpose.

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1 Peter 1:6-7 (NIV)

We must have faith while in the fire because it frees our mind, which is the battlefield of the enemy. I must admit that this is not always easy, because when the trials come, worry seems to abound in my heart and mind. But, when I refocus on Jesus, and take my eyes off the storms of life, peace comes like a river and my soul is stilled. Let no man tell you that you do not have favor in the fire. The fire itself is what our Heavenly Father is using to discipline us because He loves us and we are His children. 

When we respond well in the fire it brings greater things such as nearness to God; a honing of spiritual gifts, including wisdom; and even joy, since the joy of the Lord is our strength, and we have to rely on Him to stay strong in the fire.

People, there is purpose in the prison. Sometimes we are fighting to get out when God wants us in so that people will be saved in whatever type of prison we may be in. At midnight Paul and Silas were singing hymns in their cell when their chains were loosed by a sudden earthquake that shook the foundations and set them free. Take note though, that to be singing hymns and praises to God in prison means they were already emancipated from mental slavery. Now physically free, they did not run, but they stayed in the prison, which lead to the jailer giving His life to Christ. He brought them to his house and his whole household got saved. Much fruit came from that prison cell. Each person in this circumstance had favor.

Joseph at times may have felt that he was in the fire when he was unjustly thrown in prison, but it was a place of preparation and promotion. God was with Him and He was a success and was put in charge in the prison. He had favor of God and man. And, it was a place where He was setup to be prime minister of Egypt to save His family. When he was face to face with his brothers who threw him in the pit, which was the beginning of a long and painful ordeal, he could say, "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive” (Genesis 50:20). Joseph had favor from pit to Potiphar’s house to prison, because all of this was the process by which God used for him to become prime minister to preserve a multitude of people.
 
David who was out of place with his army ready to fight with the Philistines against Israel was by God’s grace, rejected by the Philistine King. Don’t ever think that there is not favor in rejection. Sometimes it is one of the best thngs that could ever happen to us. When David and his men returned to Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had raided the area and burned it by fire. Everyone, including the women were taken captive. The men were distressed and angry, ready to stone David. The heat had turned up in his life and he had to encourage himself in the Lord. When we can go into the Lord’s presence and get courage from Him, we have favor. David and some of His men pursued and overtook the Amalekites, set the captives free and recovered all that was lost and more. That was favor!!!

Let us not despise our fiery ordeal because we are coming out gold, tested and proven, filled with faith for the glory of God. Free from pride and worry, knowing we can call on and rely on God in any trial. It is a time where we should persevere as our character is being forged in the fire, and we become more confident that our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ, our righteousness. It is not over in the fire, it may just be a season of new beginnings, and beauty will come out of the ashes. It may seem like a desert place, but God can make streams in the wilderness and rivers of living water will flow out of our bellies. We should not quit in the fire, the prison, or that dry period in our lives, as we do not want to miss out on freedom and favor.