Spiritually Dry : How I got out of a Spiritual Funk and Experienced Breakthrough
We’ve all had those moments in life where we’ve felt spiritually dry.
Life gets chaotic, our schedules steal our attention, and our humanness takes over.
We depend on ourselves more, and somehow, we find ourselves depending on God less.
We internalize what we’re feeling, what we’re thinking, and what we’re experiencing, and it seems like we’re just trying to survive the day-to-day without breaking down.
Or maybe we think we’re doing all the right things—we’re going to church, we’re in the Word, and we’re engaging in community—but something seems off. Our heart isn’t in it. The passion we once had seems like a distant memory. We feel… numb.
The desperation for His presence we once had seems like it’s escaping from our grasps, and we’re tired. We’re tired of fighting for it.
While I can’t explain why this happens, I can’t deny that it happens every once in a while.
Maybe you’re reading this because this is where you’re at—you’re feeling spiritually dry. I want to let you know that you’re not alone.
During months 4, 5, and 6 of my race, this was my reality.
If you’ve read my past blog posts, this shouldn’t be a surprise to you all.
In Guatemala (month 4), distractions were stealing my attention and I wasn’t spending daily time in His presence. I was casually coasting. In Malaysia (month 5), the spiritual darkness of the colliding cultures and religions in Penang were at force with each other, and my spirit felt oppressed in the midst of it. Confusion took over. I let our 7-hour worship services suffice as my “time with the Lord” and I found myself turning to earthly comforts for the wholeness I was searching for. I was spending time with Jesus, but my heart felt far from Him. In a weird way, I was running from Him. In Thailand (month 6), my mind was at war with itself, and my thought-life was filled with darkness. I spent most nights without sleep—overthinking till the sun rose. I felt imprisoned in my own mind. So, what did I do? I was trying to treat the problem at hand instead of the root of the issue. It seemed like everything I was trying on my own efforts was failing.
Now, God had grace on me during each of these seasons, and He showed up in incredible ways in my life… despite my wandering heart. All glory to Him for that!
But the fact of all this was this: I wasn’t fighting for my relationship with God. I was just hoping and praying things would change. That somehow, I would get out of the funk.
I’m delighted to tell you that it was during the end of month 6 (in Thailand), where I experienced breakthrough.
In Cambodia during month 7, I decided to write a letter to my future-self.
I wanted to help my future-self get out of the funk of spiritual dryness that held me captive for those months. And while I see a purpose in everything, I believe the Lord allowed me to experience those months on the race to glorify Him with my response to it. So if the purpose, in and of itself, was so that I could share with my future-self, and you all, what worked for me—so be it!
Here’s the letter:
“Kels—the past 3 months of the race in Guatemala, Malaysia, and Thailand were rough. You were spending time with God (especially at PenHOP, haha!) but your heart felt far from God. You were running from Him, and you wanted to hide it from others. You were trying to figure it out on your own, and you weren’t letting the light expose it for what it was. Here are some tips you can implement into your life if (when) this happens again in the future. Just some pieces of advice you can take to heart for when you’re feeling spiritually dry in the future…
// How To Get Out Of A Spiritual Funk //
“You can’t change much if you don’t risk much” If you want to see change in your life… you’ve got to start switching things up.
You’ve got to take sacrifices and take risks if you want to see change.
Kels—you know the times in your life where you’ve felt spiritually dry have been times when you haven’t been spiritually disciplined. It’s time to change some habits for a couple weeks…
1) STOP DISTRACTING YOURSELF
Get off social media. Get off your phone, all together, really! Most of your time spent on your phone is a coping mechanism to escape the reality you’re in. It can become a bottom-less pit of distraction. You put off the important things and get consumed in the social realm of the world. You don’t need to know what’s going on in Russia, what’s going on in your high school acquaintance’s life, and you don’t need to know Tasty recipes for easy packable work lunches. Take a break from Netflix, Hulu, or whatever TV show you’re obsessing over. Kels—if you were to take percentages from your technology consumption throughout the day—what would that percentage be? Scary, huh? Take a couple weeks to UNPLUG. It’s time to reprioritize.
2) FIND A DESOLATE PLACE AND “BE” WITH GOD
Jesus was allllll about escaping the crowds to go to mountain tops and desolate places to spend time with God. If God—the Creator of all things, whose power is limitless, takes time to rest—you should too. Resting does not mean watching movies. Grab your hammock and find a quiet place to be still. Kels—I know your go-to place is a coffee shop or in the nook of your home. But you can still hear people’s conversations around you and distractions of to-do lists or chores call your name. It’s so important that you get outside. Just do it. Get outside and enjoy His Creation! Take advantage of the blessings in your own backyard—sit on a bench by a lake, take a hike to the top of a mountain, lay a blanket down at a park. Get outside, get some fresh air, and let the easiness of a fresh scene relax your busy mind. While you’ll want to “do” something—like read a devotional, listen to a podcast, journal, listen to worship music—take at least 30 minutes to sit and be with God. Be still. Talk to Him and wait for His response.
3) GET IN THE WORD
In Guatemala, you were coasting. You weren’t spending time in the Word. You were burnt out from Scripture in Malaysia. You were tired. I get it. It didn’t help that when you were feeling burnt out and decided to turn to the Word anyway, you were reading about destruction and wars in the Old Testament. It was heavy! While during months 9-10 that has been a cool experience for you, I have a different idea for you when you’re feeling spiritually dry next time. Read one of the Gospels start to finish—Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John! You’ll read captivating stories about Jesus’ life! Someone who faced trials and temptations, but never sinned. Someone who understands what you’re experiencing. Let the real life of Jesus come alive in your life! If you’re wanting to go deeper, download She Reads Truth and download one of their devotionals. Revelation comes through relationship, so by getting in the Word and spending time with God, you’re putting your relationship with Him first—and you’ll experience the mystery of revelations through it!
4) CONFESSION, REPENTANCE, FORGIVENESS
Be honest with God about where you’re at! Invite Him into the season you’re in. Physically write down (with pen and paper) what you’re feeling. Tell God what’s going on in your life. He yearns to hear it from you! A relationship doesn’t mean you read each other’s minds—you might know what is happening in that person’s life, but you want to hear from them how it impacts them—what they’re thinking, feeling, and experiencing from it. You can either turn to God, or turn from God. The choice is yours. He gives us new life when we turn to Him—it’s pretty sweet! Kels—knowing you (me), when your mind is it war with itself and your thought-life is chaotic, chances are that you haven’t been honest with God about some things. It’s time to turn from those things, and turn to God. It’s time to stop running away from God, and run to God. Confess what’s really going on. Take time to repent about the things you haven’t brought into the light—they’ve been weighing on you far too long now. Identify the barriers that are keeping you from walking in fullness with God. It’s time to starve the flesh and feed the spirit. Ask the Lord to help you with self-control and give you strength. He is able to help us! Ask Him for help in this! Ask the Lord for forgiveness—He freely and lovingly gives it to us. Walk in the freedom of getting right with the Lord. Talk it out!
5) ASK FOR PRAYER SUPPORT
We are not meant to do faith alone—we were made for community! The best thing you can do is to let your people—the people who know your heart—in. Call up your home team. Get coffee with them. Reach out to the people who care deeply about you. Tell them what’s going on. Shame will tell us to keep those things in. Shame will try to convince us that we are alone and our thoughts, experiences, and feelings are irrational. The best thing you can do, as you know, is to externalize. Externalize, externalize, externalize. Take what has been rumbling inside of you—what has toiled and festered—and bring it into the light. Let the light expose the darkness—the darkness you’ve been trying to hide—for what it is. When you externalize it, it doesn’t have power over you. When you let other people into the realities of your heart, you’re allowing people to speak truth into it. It’s through vulnerability that you’re allowing the people around you to feel connected to you. Don’t try to act like you have it all figured out, or that you have it all together. It’s okay to feel broken. It’s okay to not know what’s going on. We’re all human, and we’re all just trying to figure it out. Let us build one another up in love through prayer. Asking people to help you is not a sign of weakness—it’s a sign of strength. You’re stepping into humility when you’re asking people for help. Ask people for what you want—don’t expect them to read your mind. You’ll be sitting in a pity party with a victim mentality if you just wait for people to ask you what’s wrong. Ask people to intercede for you. Tell your home team specific ways they can be interceding for you. You’ll be stronger because of it. Prayer is POWERFUL. You’ve seen the power of prayer on the race. You’ve seen miracles happen through prayer. Ask people to be a part of the breakthrough you’re asking for.
I’ll end with this:
I could not do the race if I depended on myself.
I would have given up a LONG time ago.
The race is hard. It’s physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually hard. It requires 100% of you 24/7.
As tough as it has been, I do it because He is worthy of it all.
I could not have done the race if it wasn’t for God.
Depending on God is the only way to do 11 months straight of mission work.
I HAVE to connect to the source—Jesus—if I am going to serve sustainably.
He is the Vine, and I am the branches. If I am connected to Him, I will bear much fruit. If I try doing it all on my own, I will do nothing. If I only depend on myself, I’ll run dry every time.
John 15:5-8
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
Here are two songs I’m really into right now. Both happen to be by Housefires on the Housefires III album. If you’re in a season of dryness, I pray that these songs breath life into you.
“Abide” by Housefires
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXof1Tp1JYk
“This Is Where I Belong” by Housefires
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww6GZ2U7Coo
Hang in there, friends. He’s got you. He is with you, always.
Peace and grace,
Kels
