Encouragement For Those In a Spiritually Dry Season

Season one has come to an end, and I wanted to end it with transparency and encouragement for the person going through a season of spiritual dryness.

Stay in the loop with my shenanigans and season two updates by following me on Instagram and subscribing to my email list:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/justinecheri
Email list: https://justinecheri.ck.page/3837c183df 

Transcript

UNKNOWN: 0:00

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00: 0:05

Welcome to Going Deeper. This podcast challenges the cultural status quo and societal norms keeping us from a deep light of faith. Discussing topics all across the spiritual secular spectrum from social media and consumerism to fasting and scripture memory. Come burdened by the constant stimulation and have it all mentality of modern culture. Leave refreshed and encouraged to go deeper in your relationship with God. Hey everyone, welcome back to Going Deeper. I just wanted to start off with a brief apology, even though it's probably not necessary because I reckon 97% of you did not even notice that we missed a week of the podcast. And you're likely thinking to yourself, girl, don't even apologize. But I just feel the need to do that. because we did we missed a week of the podcast and I wanted this episode I had a total different direction that I was going to go in with this episode and I just thought I just feel led to be more vulnerable and transparent with you guys and but also be kind of just straight up encouraging from the heart and Nothing super scripted, like we're sitting together at coffee and I'm just kind of like telling you where I'm at and what's going on. But yeah, essentially one of the main reasons was because I got sick and then I lost my voice and you could probably still kind of hear it in my voice that I just had, it's a little raspiness is there. Some interviews, you know, those fell through with like a new, it was a whole thing. A lot of unexpected things. And I also just being pregnant and as far along as I am, really thought I would do a better job of getting ahead with episodes. And yeah, turns out jumping back into podcasting, though it has been a joy, though I do not regret it at all, though I am very excited for season two. I'm very grateful that I decided to begin podcasting again has been challenging and it's been especially challenging doing it while pregnant, which it is what it is. Like it's something that I wanted to do. I feel like I was led to do it and I am glad that I did it. However, I think I bit off a little bit more than I could chew and definitely want to be transparent about that and say that this is going to be The last episode of season one, because I'm probably going into labor anytime in the next week. Hopefully, Lord willing, I do not go 10 days over like I did with my daughter. But that is the goal. And so of course, I'm going to be taking some much needed time away just from all things podcasting, what have you. And That being said, I'm not entirely sure when season two will come back out. Part of me wants to start in the new year just so that I can give myself ample time to really record and plan most of the episodes in advance so that we don't miss a week. Also, too, my goal was 10 to 12 episodes, and this is only eight episodes, but that's fine. This episode Whole podcast season, the theme has been, and something that I've drawn to a lot is grace. And you know, with that being said, we're going to end by focusing on the theme of grace because I just don't think we can harp on it enough. I really don't. I think there are some things where you're beating a dead horse with a stick, but grace is not one of those things that you can over talk about. I really just don't. We have to be saturated with it on a day-to-day basis to live this Christian life because this Christian life is really hard. And that's kind of what I wanted to briefly talk about in this episode. This is not going to be a long episode. Like I said, it's not scripted, but I wanted to kind of give you an idea of where I'm at and just be transparent with where I've been and how I've been feeling physically and spiritually. But yes, this will be the last episode and I'm I will keep you guys posted on Instagram of when I plan to return with season two, what you can expect with season two, and all of that. But for this episode, I really just wanted to talk to the person and encourage the person who feels spiritually dry, because that's how I've been feeling for the last, honestly, couple months. And it's been really eating away at me. It's been really hard to be in a dry season spiritually to feel as though I've lost my joy in the Lord. And you know, I would have in the past had a really hard time admitting that to people. Because you never want to show weakness, right? You never want to admit when you're struggling you never want to admit especially when you've got a Christian podcast right and you want to encourage others in their walk with the faith but sometimes I think the most encouraging thing that you can do is just be honest and transparent and real and authentic about your weaknesses and be like yeah this Christian life is hard and it's not easy and it's a fight every day and There are seasons of spark and fire and passion. There are seasons of steadfastness and faithfulness and just that aspect of maybe it's not super passionate, but like, yeah, man, I'm really walking with the Lord. And then it just feels like there are other seasons of dryness and seasons of distance from the Lord that And I think it's a mixture of all sorts of things, right? You know, it could be our circumstances. It could be our mental health. It could be our relationships. It could be whatever, right? There are so many factors that are at play spiritually, but also just situationally. And I have been wrestling a lot with it because I know that it is not God's desire for me to But it's not my desire either, right? You know, as somebody, you know, when we're a believer, as Christians, our heart should be to have a really strong delight in the Lord and for that delight to lead to a discipline of walking with Him and relying on Him and depending on Him and really just being a practice of obedience, right? And it's really tough when you are... wrestling more than you normally have, right? So again, wanted to speak to that person who may feel the same way. One, so that you know you're not alone, so that you know that you're not alone, but also so that you know that it's okay. We're human. Circumstances happen. Life happens. But also to call out the fact that If you think that the Christian life is easy, breezy, beautiful for some people and just not for others, or that some people just have an easier time walking with the Lord or, you know, some people just, you know, they don't have dry seasons like, or, you know, they're just so on fire for the, I never see them not passionate about their faith, right? Like we see people like that and we can begin to believe the lie that it's not hard for them or that they don't fight for that. or that they didn't just come out of a dry season, right? Or a season of doubt or whatever it is, you know, where we're wrestling. So I want you to know you're not alone, but I also want you to know that it's okay. And to match the theme of this entire season and just kind of end on the theme of grace, there's grace. There's so much grace for you in these seasons. And the Lord is so kind. And He is so slow to anger. And He is so patient with us. He waits for us with open arms. He is eager for us to come to Him. And He is eager to restore our joy. And so I want to encourage you with two Bible verses. Like I said, no scripted episode, no deep dive into some topic, just two Bible verses that are going to sustain me and keep me going through the month of October as I welcome a new baby and take a break from the podcast, but also as I wrestle through this season of dryness spiritually. And I pray that it is what you need to hear today. If you're going through the same thing. So the first verse is from Hebrews 4.16. And I actually encourage you to do this. This is not a, well, it's one of those things where we've all heard we should do this, but like practically putting into place, we really should do this. And that's putting scripture up in your house, all throughout your house, and I used to do that. I used to be good at that in the other house that we lived in when it came to like writing on a white card and taping it to the wall. But one of my friends, she recommended buying those lined sticky notes. You know what I'm saying? The sticky notes that have lines on them. So it's a very easy, quick process. Like it doesn't require tape or anything like that. And just whenever you need encouragement, you know, to dwell on a specific verse, just writing it on a sticky note and putting it wherever you're going to see it most frequently. And I know that's a very obvious thing. Like that's not revolutionary. Nobody's saying it is. But I encourage you to do that with these verses if you are struggling with what I was describing. So Hebrews 4.16 says, Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and And find grace to help in time of need. Let us with confidence, just this understanding, you know, like my children, when they come to me, they have 100% faith and trust in me as their mom, that I'm going to pick them up, that I'm going to embrace them, that I'm going to love them, that I'm going to forgive them, that I'm going to give them what they need when they ask for it. And they don't come timidly. They don't come with fear. And we shouldn't either. There should be no shame when we come to the Lord in these seasons. We should come with confidence to the throne of grace because there is an abundance of mercy that he wants to give to us. He is a generous God. So Hebrews 4.16, write that one down, soak on it, dwell on it, put it wherever you need to. And the next one is a prayer message. It's a verse that you should pray, that let's pray together if you're walking through a similar thing. It's Psalm 51, 12. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. What a prayer. What a prayer. David really just hit the nail on the head here, right? Like, give me back the joy, the spark, the passion, the zeal. for my salvation, right? Like almost every Sunday I see a baptism at our church and I'm always so moved by that because the person that comes out of the water is just, they are, there's a fire, right? There's joy because they've just been brought from death to life and they recognize it because it's so real and raw to them when you come out of the water. But, you know, I was so baptized at 14 years old. I don't remember that as vividly as I do now at almost 30. And most of us don't, right? Restore to me the joy of my salvation, right? And grant me a willing spirit, a willing spirit that's going to sustain me through the hard seasons, the seasons when it feels like it is a fight to be disciplined, to be obedient. to walk with the Lord. So that's a prayer. Two verses. Hopefully you can dwell on those. We can dwell on them together. And that's really all I have for you today, truly, is I wanted that to be the encouragement to rest in the Lord's grace, but also to give you an idea of how I am practically trying to push through this dry season. And I've been figuring this out as I go, because it's been a while since I've felt like this. And it's different every time, right? Because the circumstances in life are different, you know, and it's, you're navigating why, why am I in the season? You know, what's causing this or whatever. But the one thing that I'm coming to the realization of is a lot of times it can feel wrong to want to force myself into sorry about that you guys don't have my do not disturb on but force myself into this state of passion or joy and I don't think that's what the Lord wants right and when it comes to being in his word I think what he wants is for us to just come as we are no matter what because what we're doing is we're being obedient we're being disciplined to come That's, that's super pleasing to him. And if we come and we don't have a posture of joy to pray about that and to just confess that and to be honest before the Lord and say, look, Lord, I'm here. I'm showing up. I don't want to be here though, but give me a joy. Give me a joy. And I think he will. And so just kind of showing up, even when you don't want to show up, there's nothing wrong with that. He doesn't expect you to show up with this big, you know, zealousness that you had when you were first baptized every single time. But to be disciplined and obedient and to be honest with the Lord with exactly where you're at. And yeah, I think he's going to honor that. So that's really all I have for this podcast today. I know this was short. I know it was straight to the point. I hope it was encouraging for you guys. And I likely, I won't be posting on here for a while. Season two will come either in December or January. So keep an eye out for that. I will keep you guys posted on Instagram and I will likely send you an email for those who are interested. subscribe to my email list. So if you are not subscribed and you want to be notified when season two comes out, make sure you subscribe. But I love y'all. Thank you so much for listening this season. Thank you so much for encouraging me. Those who have reached out and who have said things that have resonated with them. It means the world and it spurs me on to keep going. So I hope you guys have a sweet holiday season. And if you have any ideas for episodes or anything that you would love for me to talk about, definitely let me know.