Oceans in the Desert

Kathi Pelton

Feelings and emotions are both an amazing gift that brings us great joy as well as a source of confusion and raging chaos. We all have them and as believers we have to go through a process of learning to walk and live by the Spirit rather than by the narrative of our emotions. Emotions should never dictate who God is or how near he is to you. They should never dictate how he sees you or who you are in him. Yet— so often, even among Spirit-filled Christians, I see people allowing their emotions to be master over their beliefs.

My personal favorite seasons of life are the seasons that I “feel” God all around me. I experience the depths of his love in my dreams at night, I feel deep and strong emotions from him and to him in my prayer times, I am moved emotionally in my worship times. And yet, there are seasons where I “feel” almost nothing— or I should say I don’t feel anything moving or beautiful— mostly dry, stagnant or even sad. I do not personally like those seasons but for whatever reason, they come— and usually unexpectedly.

Throughout my years of walking with Jesus, I have learned that in those emotionally dry seasons that God has not changed and during those times I must rely on the truth of his Word to carry me and direct me.

I believe that the times where we are emotionally dry and feel disconnected is often an opportunity to build our foundation of truth through His Word and all that he has spoken in past seasons. I look at these times like cement drying and securing the foundation that has been laid. Emotionally high times are more like the bricks being laid and the wet cement being applied but then comes the waiting as it dries and becomes a sure foundation to build upon. This is when we move according to obedience, we see Godly wisdom solidified and acted upon, the fear of the Lord becoming the only standard that we will live by. Truth becomes truth— not just something that makes us feel good. These times are often when what was built in the past season is tested and tried (tried by fire) until it becomes pure gold.

The enemy loves to try to narrate and manipulate these times by introducing harassing messages to trigger negative and painful emotions (and try to get you to make emotional decisions that will lead you astray). He will try to tell you that God is distant because of something you have done. He will attempt to get you to turn to other things for comfort or for a sense of purpose. He will also try to get you to believe the negative emotions over spiritual and Biblical truths. We must resist the temptation to believe lies or to cause our steps to be guided by our souls.

During these times we must KNOW that God is not distant, he is not withholding anything from us, his promises have not changed and his love has not diminished toward us. Pain and negative emotions are not the rudder that should steer our lives or our beliefs. Nor should emotionally dry seasons cause us to doubt or become double-minded regarding Biblical truths. He never changes!

If you are in a dry and thirsty place— worship him because he is worthy, not because it makes you feel good. Pray in faith, from the foundation of truth because faith is not a feeling, it’s a posture. Walk according to the fear of the Lord and wisdom of God and develop your obedience and trust apart from emotional persuasions. And walk in your authority in Christ to silence the lies, silence the voice of your enemy and silence every double-minded thought that has led your steps in wrong directions. Keep covenant!

If you have been married for any length of time, you know that there are seasons in marriage that all those emotional highs you had when you entered into covenant with your spouse on your wedding day are tested and seem void. Yet, those are the time that couples establish covenant obedience and faithfulness. It is when the “for better or worse” part of vows are tested and tried. And it is where we overcome our souls desire to be satisfied with mere emotions and we walk in the truth of covenant promises. Marriage is such a wonderful example of our covenant with Jesus. His love (1 Corinthians 13 love) is always present and his covenant with us is unbreakable— even when we don’t “feel” deep emotions.

God is with you and he loves you more that you will ever imagine. Joy will be restored and your spiritual Spring season of buds, blossoms, singing and new life will come again. Wilderness seasons are not forever— but they can be amazingly affective if we will cooperate with the Lord in them.

“Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved?…” Song of Solomon 8:5 (a)

————————————————-

If these articles have been a blessing in your life, will you consider giving a financial gift to keep this ministry going? To give a gift, go to: https://www.inscribeministries.com/contact-us.html

Or, you can mail a gift to:

Inscribe Ministries / 149 NE Ocean Loop / Hillsboro, Oregon 97124 USA