How to Refresh Your Spirit When Faith Feels Dry
After months of shoveling snow, sliding on icy streets, and bundling in layers by the fireplace, we’ve never felt more ready for spring! Even this week’s hailstorm and gusting winds couldn’t shake our confidence that sunshine and flowers are on the way.
Yet while we see the seasons turning outside our window, many of us feel caught in a winter of the soul. It’s hard to pray. The scriptures seem lifeless or written for somebody else. Emotions feel heavy. At church, you feel you’re on the outside looking in. You just go through the motions, detached from those around you and the One you came to worship. You feel guilty. Anxious. Discouraged. You wonder, How can I refresh my spirit when faith feels so dry?
Today we meet you here with friendship, empathy, and the offering of seven ways God has brought spiritual renewal in our own dry seasons. We pray you find hope and some practical help to keep seeking the Lord, his strength, and his presence (1 Chronicles 16:11). Take heart: spring is coming!
1. Seek silence
It’s noisy at our house. The dogs bark at Amazon drivers on the porch and squirrels off the deck. Our son loves to hammer in the garage, practice on his drum kit, and crunch through bags of his favorite potato chips. Rob sings along to his playlist in one room while Joanna chats on the phone in another. And even when the volume is low for a moment, our eyes and ears are glued to whatever grabs our attention online. It’s rare to experience a moment of simple, silent rest.
Yet God describes his Spirit’s voice as a gentle whisper or a soft wind. How many times has his “still, small voice” been drowned out by our busy lives and distracting devices? (1 Kings 19:12) Unless we step away to a place of quiet, it is difficult to hear him guiding, speaking, and loving us each day.
The scriptures describe God as our good Shepherd whose sheep know his voice. If you are feeling lonely for the Lord or need reassurance of his presence, choose a place and time to seek silence. Mute your devices. Close the door. Simply sit, with no agenda or plan, and be quiet before the Lord. We know it will feel strange and even uncomfortable at first. But in time a sense of calm will flood your spirit. You’ll be more aware of the thoughts and worries you carry. You might sense tension easing from your shoulders. And as you pursue a regular rhythm of silence, prayer can rekindle and God’s voice will speak to your heart once again.
For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
Psalm 62:1
2. Immerse in the Psalms
One of the most impactful words of advice we’ve heard was during a time of severe stress for our family. Our pastor offered the idea that everyone has “their Psalm” prepared by God for their unique situation. He invited us to start reading at the beginning of the book until we found that singular psalm written as a special message from the Lord. Sure enough, when Joanna began reading and reached Psalm 86, she found a deep well of comfort and wisdom that was a powerful lifeline through those dark days.
The beauty of Psalms is how it puts words to all the turmoil and fear, grief and anger we experience in this life. Maybe you feel God abandoned you to cope on your own. Or the liars get ahead while your integrity gets you nowhere. Maybe you’ve been praying and crying for breakthrough, but you feel stuck. Hopeless. Defeated and confused. The Psalms hold all of the emotions we carry when our faith feels dry and God seems a million miles away.
Yet the Psalms also declare the reality of who God is on our hardest days. They remind us of his promises to care for us in every detail. Of his power to overcome our enemies. Of his compassion for our weakness and his patience when we fall on our face. The Psalms remind us that even when we’re hanging on by a thread, God never lets us go.
So today, we invite you to begin at Psalm 1 and simply start reading. We are confident that God will shine a light on his Word that he’s prepared especially for you in this season.
The unfolding of your words gives light…
Psalm 119:130
3. Change your rhythm
If you’ve been following Christ for a while, you may have settled into a routine of how you engage with the Bible and your faith community. Maybe you’ve used the same devotional magazine or app for as long as you can remember. Or attended the same Sunday school class or weekly study. Maybe you subscribe to a certain pastor’s YouTube channel or tune in to a favorite Christian program on the radio. But now, these voices and practices seem stale. They feel like just an intellectual exercise. You’re not inspired to worship, to obedience, or to love from the heart.
Perhaps it’s time to break free from the rut and pursue a new rhythm of prayer, Bible study, and community. This could include:
- Fasting once per week
- Keeping a journal of prayer needs and scriptures
- Attending a weekend retreat
- Using a new type of devotional and Bible translation
- Joining a community Bible study
- Buying tickets for a worship concert
- Prayer walking in your neighborhood
- Unplugging once per week to enjoy time with God and loved ones
Meeting God through fresh voices and experiences can draw you near to him in whole new ways.
The Lord will guide you continually and
satisfy your needs in the barren desert.
Isaiah 58:11
4. Count your blessings
When faith is dry, our eyes can be blinded to God’s goodness in our day-to-day lives. Our focus lands on what seems missing. What’s disappointing or testing our patience. How we wish God would show up or answer our prayers. God’s power, provision, and loving kindness seem like a distant memory.
That’s why choosing gratitude is so effective in helping to see God’s love all around us. By counting our blessings—and writing them down—we can see evidence of his presence in black and white. It may be as simple as noting the gifts of a hot shower and a fresh cup of coffee in the morning. Or the sweetness of your little one’s arms around your neck. It could be the kind stranger who let you merge in traffic or the glowing sunset in the evening sky. By searching for God’s blessings all around us, our hearts are moved to praise and his love becomes tangible once again.
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
Psalm 13:6
5. Offer your help
While it’s impactful to notice God’s goodness in our lives, it’s powerful to share his kindness with others too! Giving, helping, and serving allows us to step into his kingdom work being accomplished all around us. As lives are changed before our eyes, the reality of God’s powerful love is too beautiful to deny.
Ministering to others can take many forms. It’s simply sending a grocery gift card to a single mom whose budget is tight. Or mowing your elderly neighbor’s lawn, taking soup to a family down with the flu, or mailing a card of encouragement to someone walking through grief. Perhaps it’s committing to regular support of a missionary or sponsoring a child in need overseas. Or volunteering with your church’s refugee ministry, prison outreach, or after-school Bible club. By offering your time and money, attention and care to serve in Jesus’ name, you reconnect with his compassion, mercy, and care in this world.
A generous person will prosper;
whoever refreshes others
will be refreshed.
Proverbs 11:25
6. Invite others in
When our faith feels empty, shame is quick to fill the void. We can struggle with questions like What’s wrong with me? Am I a hypocrite? Shouldn’t I be stronger than this by now? Is God disappointed or angry? Will I be stuck in this spiritual desert forever? We carry our doubts and insecurities alone, afraid of the consequences that honesty might bring our way.
Yet God knows that following him is a journey we travel as a family—the family of God. He knits every believer into the body of Christ that “you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” (Romans 1:12). By practicing brave transparency, we open the door for others to pray over us. To share how God is at work in their own situation. To remind us of his promises to listen, help, and keep us on our feet. Through other believers, we can receive grace and compassion that reconnect us to the heart of God. As we open the door to share with our brothers and sisters in Christ, light can overcome the darkness and restore our hope.
…encourage the disheartened,
help the weak,
be patient with everyone.
1 Thessalonians 5:14
7. Claim God’s promises
It can seem that when God is most silent, our emotions are shouting in our ears. Our feelings battle with the facts of God’s promises to keep us, protect us, and stay by our side. We can feel he’s far away. That he’s ignoring our needs and prayers. That he might punish or reject us. That our guilt is beyond forgiveness. Feelings feed unbelief, but claiming God’s Word as truth allows us to overcome. Today, we invite you to search the Bible for promises like these:
- The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:8)
- Come near to God and he will come near to you. (James 4:8)
- You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry. (Psalm 10:17)
- If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
- For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
By immersing ourselves in God’s promises, our faith can endure until the joy of our faith is restored.
For no matter how many promises God has made,
they are “Yes” in Christ.
2 Corinthians 1:20
We would be grateful to encourage you on whatever road you’re walking as a believer. You are always welcome to submit a prayer request (click the button below!) and know we’ll lift you up. And if it’s difficult to articulate your prayers right now, let these resources put words to the needs of your heart:
