My Survival Guide for Spiritual Deserts

A new blog post is back. This season has been very busy and jam-packed lately, with a lot of things going on in my life and finding a space to write a blog has been difficult. The reason for this is that sometimes I’m completely on top of God and sometimes I don’t feel His presence, but I know He’s always there. This all fits perfectly into this post…

The title sounds like an action film or a survival guide, written by Bear Grylls but it’s more common that you would actually think. In church, I’m sure man of us have had our high weeks and low weeks. High weeks are when we’re completely on fire for God, soaking up His spirit. Compare this to the low weeks – we think we have an isolated experience when it comes to understanding God and not having God one week feels like we’re on our own. If you look around church, I’m sure a lot of your congregation have their moments in feeling the exact same way.

If you imagine a desert. A dry, lonely, never-ending environment. A place where you need hope to survive or you die from hunger and thirst… and heat stroke from the huge burning sun in the sky. These are tough places. When we think of a desert, we presume nothing grows there whatsoever. But I’ve learnt that desert experiences in our spiritual lives are so precious and special, providing hope when we feel at our lowest. That point in time where God grows our character, shaping us into disciples of Christ. That the more we ask for, the more He will provide.

One of my favourite books as a boy was ‘The Dangerous Book for Boys’ – a self-help book describing how to survive in the wild, how to build a shelter, forage for food, etc. The book helped me to create my own adventures but also taught me how to live in the real world. So here it is, My Survival Guide for Spiritual Deserts:

1) Live In The Moment

Resist the temptations to constantly live in a difficult past or an unknown future. I know it’s really hard but wishing you were someone or somewhere else will only make you feel more down. Grab each opportunity by the scruff of the neck and do not worry about what the future holds because God is guiding you on an amazing journey. On of my favourite Bible verses, from Matthew 6:25-27, says this:

“Look at the birds of the air; they don’t sow, reap or store away in barns and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not  much more valuable than them? Can any one of you by worrying, add a single hour to your life?” (NIV)

It then goes on to say – “Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Definitely words to live by.

2) Keep Your Eyes Open

One of the easiest and quickest things to lose in a desert is perspective. You can start seeing things that aren’t there (like mirages) which can pull you away from God. Refuse to be pulled down by negativity, despair and self-pity. Don’t give up! Remember that it’s God’s time not our time and neither are His ways our ways. Instead, keep your eyes, hearts and minds open and fixed on God. If you think about it, keeping your eyes closed will only cause you to stray off a path,bump, trip and stumble over obstacles.

3) Ask and God Will Provide

My go-to Biblical character at the minute is Moses. Not the leader and prophet ,but the shepherd of people in the desert for 40 years. A true, literal, desert survivor. In Exodus 16, it tells the story of the Israelites receiving manna from heaven when they had pushed themselves as far away from God on multiple occasions.

This story is pretty much a rescue plan. In every action film, there is always a plan and it normally goes horribly wrong. But rescues by God always go to plan. Especially on this occasion. This taught me a lot about God’s provision. That when we are at our lowest, we have two options – the easy option or the whole lot harder one. The easy option is for you to complain and blame God, or the harder one; remembering God’s faithfulness and trust. God meets us where we are, not where He thinks we ought to be (just like in the desert) with His provision not being determined by our performance.

And this is my survival guide for getting out of spiritual deserts. Let God use you and be your rescuer.

Thanks

Nick