GOING THROUGH A DRY SEASON IN YOUR MINISTRY?

Are you in a rut? Does it seem like God has put your ministry on the shelf? Are you facing a dry season in your ministry? You have set goals, devised a strategic plan and implemented initiatives to reach milestones, yet it all seems to be moving along at a snail-like pace or not at all. Has finding the traction to move forward been difficult for you recently? Does any of this describe where you are right now, or does every word of it describe your situation precisely?

Well, welcome to the Dry Season Fraternity! You are a part of a company of notorious nincompoops, who sometimes labor in obscurity but never in vain. Every serious preacher I know will at some point join this exclusive fraternity. Having preached the Gospel for over twenty years now, I have experienced a few dry seasons myself. Here are a few things I have learned over the years that have helped me persevere:

1. God places His emphasis on the worker and not the work. We are His workmanship, not our ministry.


2. Many times our disappointment is His appointment.


3. Genuine faith never functions in a vacuum. It can only function in a hostile environment.


4. Applying simple truth sustains us during difficult times. His remedy for bringing us out is never complex.


5. A quote from General George S. Patton, "The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war."

The reassuring part about going through a dry season is that we go through it. Our sovereign God provides the faith to sustain us, the season to mold us and the strength to help us bear fruit despite our circumstances. So embrace, not shun every dry season in your life and ministry. Hear the words of Paul, "For I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me." (Phil. 4:11-13, ESV)