Joy: 37-Day DevotionalSample

Our family spent time living in the Middle East where the weather is scorching and the land is barren. Other than date palms, there are few plants that can survive in the inhospitable climate. About a year after we moved there, we took a trip to Northern Italy. In a matter of a few hours, we left the desert and landed in a cool, mountainous region. The colors of the trees and flowers were brilliant, the air felt like pure oxygen, and we welcomed the drizzle of rain on our faces. The long absence of all these things in our life made their presence so much sweeter. Italy would have been a beautiful trip no matter what, but arriving there from the desert was a precious gift following a season of physical drought. 

Similarly, we sometimes endure seasons of spiritual drought. This can come as a result of sin or disobedience that causes distance in our relationship with God; it can happen as a result of a personal physical or mental difficulty that causes us to struggle spiritually; or it may be a result of our own busyness and distraction causing us to meander slowly into a place of spiritual dryness. Whatever the reason, we must do like the Psalmist David did and recognize that the only source of nourishment in the desert is the living water of God. Our struggle and our longing in these hard places is for our Savior. We are all bound to experience a dry season, but there are sweet times of soul-filling refreshment when we recognize that our Savior is ready to rescue us from these barren places. Praise the Lord—the living water will never run dry! How precious these times with the Savior can be when we allow Him to meet us in our desert place and quench our parched spiritual lips. 

Lord, when I find myself in a season of drought, help me to seek only You, the Living Water, to quench my spiritual thirst. Draw me back to You, and help me experience Your divine refreshment even in times of difficulty. Amen.