Zeal – Part 6 – Walking through Desert Seasons
we have defined Zeal as – wholehearted surrender and fierce devotion to God rooted in the gospel.
these last several weeks we have been talking about the things that block our zeal –
and that thing we want to talk about are spiritual deserts.
During my time as a pastor – I think one of the most common questions I get from people is “Davis, I don’t feel God right now. God doesn’t feel close.What do I do?”
after a few years of walking through plenty of deserts of my own – and talking with lots of people going through dry seasons in their faith when people tell me that God feels distant – I usually start with a pointed question. that question is – “is there a reason – or is this a season?
I have found two types of spiritual deserts in the christian walk –
- Reason deserts – spiritual deserts that enter our life because of choices that we have made – a lot of times – those are results of unrepentant sin.
- Season deserts – spiritual deserts that God allows in our life-usually in the form of trials–to stretch and grow our faith – and walk more faithfully with him.
And we are mostly talking today about season deserts – because for the last three weeks we have been talking about reason deserts – but we will briefly talk about those real quick –
any of the blockers to zeal that we have talked about together over the last several weeks – can lead us into times where God feels distant
So apathy – legalism – sin – idols – misplaced affections – all of these things lead us into these “reason deserts”
– the way out is repentance
- That’s what John is talking about when he says in 1 John 1:9 – “If we CONFESS our sin – He is FAITHFUL and JUST to FORGIVE us of our sins and CLEANSE us from ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.” that’s how we get through “Reason deserts.”
Season Deserts – where we want to settle in today – Are a little bit different. These are deserts that are not caused by sin – or idols or apathy or anything like that – but are seasons that are part of the natural ebb and flow of our spiritual walk with Christ.
- these are seasons that the Lord allows into our life – to stretch and test our faith – beckon us onto maturity Whor a deeper intimacy with him.
the first is – in the midst of season deserts – when God feels distant –
Seek God Anyway:
Open your bibles to Psalm 63 with me – David writes this psalm in a dry period of his life when he feels desperate to hear from the Lord – he says, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”
- In these season deserts – keep seeking him. HE is going to show up. In Matt. 11 – Jesus shouts out “come to me all who labor – all who are heavy laden – and I will give you rest” –
Remember God’s faithfulness:
I think one of the important things when we are going through our season deserts – when it feels like God isn’t showing up – when we are in the midst of the battle – we need to remember the ways where God has been faithful to us in the past.
“Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in the time to come, ‘what do those stones mean to you?’ Then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever” (Joshua 4:5-7)
Hold Fast:
“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail, and fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places.” (Hab. 3:17-19)