For many Christians, these months of confinement created a spiritual drought. Yes, there were virtual assemblies, but they are not the same. Fortunately, Jesus is a fountain of living water and He is waiting for us at the well.
It is not for nothing that the Bible encourages Christian gatherings. It was when the disciples were all gathered together that the Holy Spirit came to fill them (Acts 2:1). God could have filled them each in their homes, but there is power in the gathering. Even Jesus, the Son of God, who had the best relationship with the Father, made it a point to go to the temple regularly (Luke 19:47). If we each stay in our homes, how can we obey the words of Jesus who asked us to break the bread and drink the cup all together in remembrance of Him? (1 Corinthians 11:24-25) It is not only the sermon that edifies us in our weekly assembly, but it is also fellowship.
For the reason that we all know, we have been deprived of this communion for several months. This absence has left a great drought in many of God’s children. To forget about fear, loneliness, or gloom, many Christians have turned to all kinds of worldly entertainment that have increased the dryness of their souls. To the point where many of us are now spiritually gaunt.
How to identify spiritual dryness in our life? If you are not needing fellowship, it is a clear sign of drought. If Bible teachings no longer touch you and you read the Bible like any book, that’s another sign. If you are no longer serving your neighbor to make the Kingdom of God grow, if your worship has become just a song, you are withered. If you constantly complaining about what you don’t have, and seek to meet your desires without asking God for His opinion, you are withered. If your love for God has lost its passion, your soul is certainly dry.
Drought is devious and dangerous. It settles down slowly, but deeply. And when the earth of our heart is dry, the Word of God no longer bears fruit (Matthew 13). The worst part is that we don’t realize it. We just feel “disconnected”; this is exactly what we are because dry wood is put aside by gardeners. But we don’t necessarily realize that we are standing by the wayside, asleep, dehydrated. This is why drought is so dangerous. We can spend years in this state without really realizing it.
Fortunately, when we realize our condition, our resurrection can be swift. As soon as we confess to God our condition (“This is me, Lord… I am withered!”), the divine rain already begins to fall. As soon as we humble ourselves before our Father and truly begin to worship Jesus in spirit and truth, a fountain begins to flow. “Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13-14 NKJV). There is so much life in God that He can even recreate an army from dry bones (Ezekiel 37). It can take your dehydrated soul and bring it back to life.
It may not be possible for you to return to your Sunday service, or to serve in the same ministry you had before the confinement, but if you realize that these shortages can cause spiritual drought, you will be more vigilant in watching the state of your soul. As soon as we cannot use all the tools that God has made available to us to stay hydrated spiritually, we must be on our guard and maximize the other tools we have left. No one will be able to stop us from praying, praising with passion, and meditating on the Word of God. No one can prevent you from staying near still waters (Psalm 23). So go and pitch your tent near the streams, and may your roots be watered with His Spirit.
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper ”(Psalm 1:1-3 NKJV).