Stuck in the Desert

Recently, for those of you who have not noticed, I seem to have come to a dry spell with my writing.  My stories, my songs, and even my blog entries have unfortunately become few and far between.  I've lost my inspiration over the past several weeks.  I need a new muse to reawaken that writer's fire that I'm used to feel burning deep within me.  Despite this frustration, I am confident that I will soon find that part of me that will give me the inspiration to pick up a pencil and write away into the night once again.

I think that we as Christians sometimes go through these "dry spells" as well in our walks with the Lord.  Sometimes it may seem unusually difficult to force yourself to sit down and open your Bible or pray for more than a few minutes at a.  It can be easy to become so focused on our own busy lives and our own struggles and our own sorrows that we lose focus on our almighty, all-powerful, all-loving God.

If you are going through a dry spell in your walk with God, I want to encourage you with the verse I have provided below.

Psalm 63:1
O God, You are my God,
earnestly I seek You;
my soul thirsts for You,
my body longs for You,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water. 

In this passage, King David was feeling lost and alone.  He was searching for God in a place that seemed to be void of strength and hope that comes with the Lord.  And when he was actually in a dry place- hiding in the desert from his enemies- he probably felt spiritually dry at that moment.

The world in which we live is sinful and filled with people who do not understand what we are going through as children of God.  We live in a dry and weary land.  As Christians, it can be incredibly difficult to get through a single day without feeling like our hope is fading away.  We search for God, we long for Him, but the anxiety and pain of the world continues to pull us further and further away from that goal.  And that makes it so much more difficult to stay strong in Him.

The next three verses in Psalm 63 are impacting and thought-provoking.

I have seen You in the sanctuary
and beheld Your power and Your glory.
Because Your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify You.
I will praise You as long as I live,
and in Your Name I will lift up my hands.

I think this is beautiful.  Despite the fact that David was alone in the desert, both spiritually and physically, despite the fact that his enemies surrounded him, and I'm sure that he felt void of hope, he still trusted God.  He was struggling so hard to find the Lord in this difficult, difficult situation.  Despite all of that, he trusted God.  He had seen God's work before, and He knew that God wasn't going to leave him.  David said confidently, "I will praise You as long as I live."

How amazing.

As Christians, we should strive to be like David.  No matter what trial we are going through in our own lives, let us strive to praise Christ for as long as we live, because truthfully, His love is better than life, and His security will overcome every struggle we have.

Psalm 63:7 says, "Because You are my help, I sing in the shadow of Your wings."

You may be going through the hardest time in your life right now- the driest spell you have ever had in your walk with the Lord.  You may be going through a smaller dry spell, and you just feel like you're growing weary and tired of struggling with each step.  No matter what you're going through, God is going to be there for you.  He treasures you.  You are the apple of His eye.  Stay strong.  You are in the shadow of His wings, and you are not in this dry spell alone.  God is near.