Drought

How to Survive a
Spiritual Drought
Melissa C. Pointer
Saturday, June 1, 13

What is a Drought?
The common deﬁnition is a long period of extremely dry
weather, when there is not enough rain for the successful
growing of crops or the replenishment of water
The consequences of a drought
Higher prices for food
More cattle is slaughtered because there is not enough grass and
water
The land itself becomes damaged due to erosion and unforgiving heat
In extreme cases it may lead to widespread famine, entire groups of
people may be forced to migrate and death due to starvation an
dehydration may result

The Spiritual Drought
Spiritually a drought is a lengthy time period
between outpourings of the Holy Spirit.
When we ﬁrst learn of God’s word the Comforter
comes and works with us and gives us
understanding. It is similar to the April rains we
experience. This spring rain establishes crops.
However, we know that it will not continue to rain
like that during the summer.

During the season of rain the
plants must establish an extensive
root system that will aid them
during the future drier weather. If
a drought occurs these root
systems will face a challenge. For
only those with deep root systems
will survive an extreme drought.
Which is why trees will outlast
grass and other plants during a
drought. Their roots are deep
enough to tap into ground water.

The Spiritual parallel is the parable of the
sower and the seed (Matthew 13:5-6) .
We should view the drought as a testing
period at condition that will determine if
we can last during the difﬁcult times. Our
ancestors faced a similar challenge when
they traveled in the wilderness. Those
who could not tolerate their situation
failed. The greatest difference between
those that succumb and those that
survive, is that those who succeed
incorporate God into their lives and are
able to tap into the groundwater below
(Ps 1:1-3).

Famine and Drought
This is compounded by the spiritual famine. There is
literally a dearth of truth in the earth. The Word of God
does not make an impact in the world. Instead it has
been discredited and rejected.
We must learn how to successfully combat both
conditions in order to be found worthy of God’s
blessings

The Check list
When I go on vacation I like to do rigorous activities
Biking, swimming, hiking, kayaking
I also like to do these activities in unique environments
Rugged hills, deserts, forests
Why? I love the challenge
But to complete a feat I have to be prepared for what
may happen...

Preparation
I learned quickly that if you are going biking in the
rainforest
Bug spray is a must
You need lots of water
If you will hike in the desert
Sunscreen, trail mix and lots of water
Kayaking on a river
Helps to have improved upper body strength
Snacks and Lots of water

Our Warfare
In order to obtain eternal life we must also acknowledge a few things
as well
This road is not easy...if it was everyone could do it
We have an enemy that is seasoned in battle and is actively
plotting against us
This is not a war that will be fought under “perfect conditions”
only (when the elements are not against us)
We have a general that is an expert in war (God) and he has not
left us helpless
He has given us tools and skills to make sure we ﬁght a good
ﬁght and gain eternal life
The purpose of this class is to review over the environment of
drought and how to thrive in it

The
Conditions
of Drought
Dehydration
Erosion
Damage from the Sun

Dehydration
We have all experience dehydration. If you
have ever exercised, had stomach flu or simply
been thirsty: you were dehydrated. The cost
of dehydration can range from an annoying
distraction, to weakness and finally death.
Dehydration occurs when you are losing more
water than you can replace. This can disrupt
several types of functions of the body. For
example, water is necessary for maintaining
correct blood volume; in severe cases of
dehydration blood pressure decreases and it
becomes more difficult for cells to obtain all
the nourishment and oxygen necessary for
survival.

I have seen this occur in patients at the hospital
and ﬂuids are given intravenously to prevent
greater damage from occurring. I have also
experienced the affects of dehydration when I
exercise. I have noticed that I simply do not last
as long when I do not drink water. I have also
noticed that I am weaker afterwards also. This
problem is compounded when I workout during
the summer. I know that I must bring water and
perhaps a power bar to maintain myself during
strenuous activity. Fighting against a ﬁerce
opponent is also strenuous activity. Satan
knows that we are weaker when we do not have
enough spiritual water. It is much easier for him
to uproot us if our roots are dried up or to
make a penetrating strike if we are weak.
Dehydration:
What it will cost you

How does this effect soldiers? Remember an army
moves on its stomach and food is just as important as
weapons. It is impossible to separate spiritual food and
water from one another. In order to obtain the Spirit we
must eat the Word of God. The reciprocal is also true: in
order to digest God’s word we must in take of the Spirit.
When you are dehydrated you are also starving. This
situation will make it impossible to defeat Satan.
Did you know that when you
become dehydrated...simple
tasks become much more
difﬁcult. Spiritual
dehydration is very
dangerous

In order to prevent dehydration and
starvation we must continue to make Christ
apart of our lives by meditation, study and
action (Ps 1:1-3, Matt 5:6). If we do not do
this we will weaken until we will die
(Ecclesiasticus 14:9). Even slight
dehydration can start or exacerbate
erosion.
Erode: to diminish or destroy by degrees:
to eat into or away by slow destruction of a
substance: acid, infection and cancer: to
wear away by the action of water, wind or
glacial ice.

Spiritual erosion is the process of stripping you of your foundation until you are
bare and exposed. Satan is not satisfied with you not growing he also wants you to
regress. You will become so weak you will not be able to use the weapons you have.
It is no different than becoming sick because you are so dehydrated.
It is no different than becoming sick because you
are so dehydrated. Your immune system cannot
fight off germs because it is compromised. The
viciousness of this cycle is that you need to
intake even more fluids when you are sick to
become well. However since you do not have
access to water you will become weaker and
sicker until you die. Erosion can occur so slowly
that it is difficult to notice at first until it has
manifested itself as a very large problem. This
situation was well illustrated by the parable of the
talents: Matthew 25:14-29

Here each individual was given a certain
amount of money to work with and only two
of the three did so. The person who did
nothing with his money had his taken away.
Which proves a common saying “if you do
not use it you will lose it.” What prevents
the gradual decay of righteousness: a good
root system. It is much harder for soil to be
removed if roots are holding it tightly. For
areas that are often plagued with erosion
problems there are often few trees or
appropriate native grasses to hold the soil.

The Great Plains region is a perfect
example of this. The native grasses
formed a tight network of roots so it was
difficult for the soil to be removed.
However the homesteaders removed these
grasses for crops. When the drought came
the soil was not held together by these
plants and eroded away. If you have ever
gardened before you will see this first hand.
It is very difficult to remove deeply rooted
plants from the soil and once you have
removed them it is difficult to remove the
soil from them. When we incorporate God
into every aspect of our lives, Satan cannot
diminish us.

It is when we are blinded by pride or trust in our personal judgment that we can
lose our footing and our shield (example Pharisees; Mark 7:5-13, this is seen as
the Catholic and Protestant churches, Islam and pseudo Jews. As warriors we
must maintain and improve our skills so that we are always ready for the enemy
(II Timothy 2:15). If not we will forget maneuvers and become sloppy and
uncoordinated.

Often Satan works in stages: he wants us
to resist the Spirit so the Word of God is not
incorporated into us, so that we cannot tap
into water within the ground. We will then by
dry and weak and our foundation will be
removed so we are exposed. Then he likes to
have the sun shine upon us and kill our
exposed roots. During a drought the sun is
not a friend. Scorching heat has been known
to break those who did not prepare
themselves. If you have ever had fainted due
to heat, have heat exhaustion or simply been
sunburned you understand the viciousness of
the sun. All of the above can make it difﬁcult
for anyone to function in a desert or drought.

Besides dehydration, which can be
exacerbated by scorching heat, the sun is
feared in desert travel. I personally learned
to respect the effect of the sun in the Virgin
Islands. Though it was only 75 degrees I was
burned on my face and shoulders in 2.5
hours. So now if I travel south of Indiana I
wear sunscreen, hats and bring lots of
water. If you have ever been burned you
know that it is painful and very damaging. I
peeled for a few weeks after that incident in
the islands.
Spiritually the cruel sun can be seen as
difﬁcult times. Times so hard that they
will destroy or cripple you if you are not
adequately prepared (Matthew 13:5-6).

To understand this better we must look at the life of Job. In one day Job lost all of
his possessions and his children. In another day he lost his good health. To top it
off his supposed good friends accused him of deserving his afﬂiction. The sun of
hardship was shinning upon him. The only thing that prevented him from wilting or
succumbing was his faith and righteousness. Though he felt the heat of the sun he
was not damage because of his long-suffering nature (Job 1:21-22). Righteousness
and faith give vital protection during times of trouble (Ephesians 6: 14,16). When you
know that you have done all that you could possibly do for God you know he will
protect you. Your faith will be strong so that you will march on (II Corinthians 4:8-11,
13-17)

Drought

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