***I decided to encourage you today with the very first post on my blog. I hope you find it encouraging.***

Are you currently in a dry season where it seems nothing is happening? Do you feel like your life is on hold? Does it feel like everyone is progressing except you?

We all face seasons like this once in a while. Life has a way of hitting us sometimes to the point where we begin to feel frustrated. As believers, we often hear phrases like ‘God shall supply all our needs and that all things are ours’. However it is difficult to keep holding on when you have no money to pay your bills. When you are at a certain age and no guy is approaching you for marriage. When you’ve been married for a number of years and you are finding it challenging to have a child. You might be reading this and nodding thinking how long am I going to hold on for?

You see God doesn’t let us go through seasons for no reason. I particularly like the scripture that says God makes all things beautiful in its time. (Ecclesiastics 3:11). Notice the emphasis on in its time not our time.

Interestingly, God’s ways aren’t our ways and He doesn’t work according to our timing. A million years is like a day in the eyes of God. So instead of allowing frustration to hold you bound, ask yourself what God wants you to take away from this particular season.

Could it be that God is stripping you of the things He doesn’t want in you so you can begin to bear good fruits? Or maybe He is trying to teach you how to be content and be happy with nothing. It could be that you’ve just lost your job. God might be trying to teach you how to think outside the box and make good use of the ideas He has deposited in you.

We can be so glued to material things to the point where they replace God in our lives. God doesn’t want to share His glory. So in order for Him to get our attention, He shakes our atmosphere so we can seek Him. What a loving God He is :).

One of the fruits of the spirit is patience. Patience is a virtue but sometimes we really are not patient. We can’t be patient in tough situations on our one. We need the Holy Spirit to enable us see the light at the end of the tunnel in every situation. God may take us through a phase just for us to learn how to be patient as this might be a virtue we will need later in life. He sees the end from the beginning. He knows what we need, how and when to provide our needs.

It could also be that your friends are taking up your devotion time. There is always an event or an activity to attend and by the time you get back home, you are too tired to pray. God might take them away from you for a season just so you can come back to Him. All of these He does for our own good.

Another important thing for us to remember is that until we pass the test, there is no promotion. Until we learn our lessons from the dry season, it won’t go away. Rather, it lingers. Is like a student who has a test to write. If the student uses his/her study time to complain of how difficult the course is, there is no way he/she is going to pass because lack of preparation and not being equipped with the strategy to pass the test. So the individual ends up resitting the exam. The same principle applies in our spiritual life. Do not substitute your devotion time (which is the time for you to equip yourself with the tools to pass your test) with complain.

We also get frustrated when we are busy comparing our lives with others. Everyone is different and we all have different timing in life. Someone else’s season might not be your season. Comparing yourself with others births anger, jealousy and envy. You could end up being jealous about those around you because it seems like they have it all together. Until you get rid of that jealousy, anger and envy you might discover that you remain in the same place. This might be the test you need to pass before God can take you to the next season of your life. Instead of saying “why is that not happening to me? He/she does not deserve that blessing? I pray more and serve more, so why did that not happen to me?”; be happy for them.

Rejoice with that friend who is getting married, the one who just had a baby, the one who relocated to another city because of a big job offer, the one who is in a godly relationship. As you rejoice with them, you will have less time to focus on your dryness.

Tell God to heal you from bitterness and learn how to count your blessings. Be content with what you have while trusting God to make things better. No matter how bad you think your situation is, there is someone somewhere praying to have what you have.

So get up. Dress up. Put on that smile and begin to learn the lessons you need to learn in your current season. The dryness will surely come to pass.

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastics 3:1).