Dry

“My writing deadline is approaching and I feel empty,” I recently complained.

My spouse asked, “What Scriptures have you been reading lately?”

Cue the crickets and blank stare.

Sheepishly, I remembered the importance of filling our pots in order to have something in them to serve.

This shouldn’t be a reminder I need. After all, I have spoken and written often on this subject. I even started a blog several years ago based on this concept. Two posts specifically addressed the issue of avoiding becoming dry (“Fill Your Pitcher” and “Living Water”).

And yet ... knowing and doing are two very different things. Daily scheduling, worries of life, and general weariness can gradually begin to take precedence over making time to refill our hearts and minds. The circumstances of life can threaten to overwhelm us to the point of exhaustion and tears, or possibly even to a state of dehydration. Before we know it, we are parched.

Whether we have fallen out of the rhythms that sustain us, or need to approach them for the first time, we can begin by spending time with God as a means of replenishment.

In his book, Water from a Deep Well, Gerald L. Sittser discusses the importance of withdrawing into the desert. However, he is not suggesting an actual retreat to a desert climate. Rather, he points to the desert saints who choose to control desires that might crowd out seeking God. Sittser writes:

We should start modestly – sit in an empty church sanctuary for an hour in total silence just to listen to God, pray for a half hour in the morning before leaving for work ... Jesus himself said that the person who is faithful in little will also be faithful in much. These “little” gestures might engender big changes over time. (94)

Even small steps involve movement, and our goal should always be moving closer to God. Practices such as Bible reading and prayer can help us begin our approach.

I’ve written previously about inhaling the word of God and exhaling our prayers ("Breathing Lessons"). Doing this can provide an awareness of where we are and what we currently need in order to be restored and refreshed.

Just as the concept of one single breath is not enough to sustain us, neither is a “one-and-done” idea adequate to establish spiritual rhythms. To be effective over the long term, reading Scripture and talking to God need to become staples in order to improve our spiritual health. Much like oxygen is a constant need, spiritual breathing sustains us moment by moment and day by day.

Therefore, one remedy to feeling empty or dry is to seek God. Psalm 63, a psalm of David, begins with this: “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” (NIV).

Help us to thirst more for you, O Lord.