When the Soul is Dry by Chris White

^“And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”   James 1:4

I’ve heard the drought has gotten so bad in Texas that the Baptists are starting to baptize by sprinkling, the Methodists are using wet-wipes, the Presbyterians are giving out rain-checks, and the Catholics are praying for the wine to turn back into water.  Now that is what I call pretty darn dry!  Have you ever gone through a spiritual drought in your own life?  If you haven’t yet chances are you will in due time.  Back in the early days of the Christian faith believers called this phenomena acidie or “the demon of the noon-day sun”.  It’s the idea of the soul languishing in the heat with no relief in sight.  In this case heat is a metaphor for the protracted trial, a besetting sin that keeps hanging on, a sense of depression, even an indifference towards the things of God.  I think it is interesting that while this situation is certainly implied in scripture, there is not a comprehensive block of teaching in any one place about what to do about it.  I would suggest that this is so at least in part because such times are not entirely unhealthy and may actually be to our benefit.  The ‘tree planted by steams of water’ is never thirsty but usually has a very shallow root system and may actually become weakened structurally by too rapid of growth.  The tree that lives on rainwater alone gets distressed in some years but also sinks much deeper roots making it more stable.  Another cause of these drought times is testing by God.  When I think of Job’s testing, he wasn’t even let in on the reason why.  That was a conversation between God and the devil that left him completely out.  It was a horribly difficult situation and tested Job to the breaking point, but his faith was proven to be real in the process.  Joseph too went through the desert experience first a slave, then a prisoner and finally a prime minister!  His testing had to have made him feel forgotten and God forsaken at the time and yet it prepared him for a greater work that could not be done with a huge ego.  This to say that if you find yourself fighting the noon-day demon hang on to the Lord no matter how you feel, do what’s right in His eyes, and entrust your soul to his loving care day to day.  You are here and in this place for a good purpose though not readily understood.  In the end though you will find God’s grace to be greater than all you have endured.  May His Rain be in your forecast!