When Faith Feels DRY: Practical Ways to RECONNECT with God | Spiritual Dryness & Renewal Ep 30

Life gets busy. Faith can start to feel dry and distant, like God is far away even when we know He's not. In this episode, I share honest encouragement for those quiet seasons of spiritual dryness, how to recognize them without shame, and practical Scripture-based ways to reconnect with God. Whether you've experienced a sudden painful shift or a slow drift from complacency, You'll walk away with gentle next steps and fresh hope. God is always ready to meet you right where you are. Hey friend, welcome to Forward Path with Melissa: Life and Marriage God's Way. I'm Melissa, small-town Iowa girl, wife to my best friend since 2007, mom of 2, mental health therapist since 2009, and founder of Forward Path. I'm forever grateful that God took a shy, insecure kid and showed her who she really is in Him. Giving her just enough humble confidence to stand for what's true, because that changed everything. Forward Path and this podcast is the stirring God wouldn't let go of in my heart, because the world can feel dark and heavy, and we're called to be different, to shine His light, especially in our marriages and homes. So every week we're gonna open scripture, pull from real-life counseling experience, coaching knowledge, and talk honestly about the messy and the beautiful— how to disagree well, love deeply, heal, parent with purpose, and keep walking forward with Jesus. Because your growth isn't just about you; it's about glorifying the One who designed it all. So grab your coffee. Let's walk forward together. This is episode 30, When Faith Feels Dry. Practical ways to reconnect with God. We've all experienced the dry patches in our faith. There are ebbs and flows. I think we would all love to say that we are always on fire for Jesus, excited and intentional about living for Him every day, but that's not always the case. We get busy and distracted. Priorities shift and change, and it's not that that's good, but It does happen. It's that sense that God feels distant, even though we know He never leaves us, or at least we're told He doesn't. Prayer feels flat. Scripture reading becomes another item on the to-do list instead of a conversation with the One who loves you. Worship might stir your emotions for a moment on Sunday, but by Monday, maybe the awe has faded. You still believe you're not walking away from God, But the closeness, the joy, the sense of His presence feels thin. The balance is holding multiple ideas simultaneously and finding balance so we don't dip into shame. Because shame is when we start to believe we're too broken and too far gone because of our behaviors. But God doesn't deal in shame. Yes, He wants us to acknowledge our behaviors, but there is always room for redemption. Then for spiritual growth and maturity. Conviction comes from the Holy Spirit drawing us toward God. Shame pushes us away. So the one leads to life and the other keeps us stuck. So what do we do? First, notice you're in a dry season. No shame, no judgment. It's just simply recognition. Like checking the oil in your car, you can't fix what you don't acknowledge. Then let's work our way backward. So it's acknowledging how long you've been in this season. Has it been a slow drift or a sudden shift? Because those tend to be really big differences and different processes of how do we come back from it. If it was a sudden shift, something usually happened that shook your faith or made you question God and his character. A loss? A betrayal? A prayer that seemed unanswered? A painful season in marriage or with your kids? If that's the case, that's the place to start. I assure you, God can handle your questions and your big emotions. Take them to him. Be honest. The Psalms are full of raw questions and pain. You can see Psalm 13, 22:42 for just a few examples. Seek answers to your questions. Ask your pastor, a spiritual leader, or a mentor to help you sift through them and your pain. I had a client come to me to deal with trauma and grief of a miscarriage. And after processing and working on the pain for quite a while, she acknowledged that she no longer felt close to God. She was angry, sad, and confused. We took those questions and thoughts to God. I supported her in areas that I could. She also sought out her pastor and a support group of other Christian women who had experienced miscarriages too. As time has progressed, she acknowledges her faith is even stronger than before because of the ways He met her in her questions. And from the greater depth of knowledge she gained during that time. But more often, our dry seasons come from slow drifts— the quiet erosion that happens when life gets full. The excitement you once felt in your quiet time fades into routine. Bible reading becomes a box to check. Prayers turn transactional. Help me with today's to-do list. Curiosity about God's Word maybe diminishes, and then the awe and wonder at his creation, his faithfulness, and his nearness— they get crowded out by busyness, screens, worries about the kids, maybe marriage tensions, or just the grind of everyday responsibilities. And you're not bad for this. You're human. The Bible is full of people who questioned, lamented, and struggled. And so the good news is God is the Good Shepherd who leaves the 99 and comes after the one. We can read the story in Luke 15:4-7. I've had various seasons when the busyness of life, building my counseling practice, this business, or trying to be maybe everything for everyone, and they didn't all ask me to do that, caused me to drift. My quiet time had slowly turned into something I rushed through just to check off the list, or Sometimes even got pushed off the list. I always still loved God, but I realized the closeness felt gone. Before long, I'd realize I hadn't truly felt His presence in maybe weeks. It wasn't dramatic, just a slow fade. And each time, I initially felt bad until I remembered that God wasn't disappointed in me. He was gently inviting me back. A slow drift doesn't require a dramatic crisis to reverse it. It responds beautifully to small, consistent returns. Here are several practical ways to begin reconnecting, and this isn't about perfection. It's just about returning. 1. Return to the basics with fresh eyes. Start small and short, whether that's 5 to 10 minutes, instead of trying to catch up. Open your Bible to a short Psalm or the Gospels and ask one question: God, what do you want me to notice about you today? The goal isn't checking the box. It's about rekindling your relationship with him. Consistency in small doses can rekindle that intimacy. 2. Practice honest prayer, even the messy kind. Tell him exactly how you feel— the boredom, the doubt, the distraction. Recognize the thought or feeling, reframe it through truth, Renew your mind with scripture and respond in faith. Lament is biblical. Many clients find that voicing the dryness out loud to God is exactly what breaks it. Dig deeper into scripture with a fresh approach. Sometimes dryness comes from reading the same translation or study method for years, which can cause spiritual growth and maturity to stagnate and plateau. So for some, try switching to a different Bible translation or experiment with a new study method. Try the SOAP method: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer. For some, writing out verses in your own words or using a guided Bible study app or journal. I use multiple translations because it helps maybe familiar passages come alive again, stirring that fresh awe and understanding. It also causes me to pause and look at the differing words and wonder, what do they actually mean? So then I go off and do different Bible studies and do word studies, and before long, I'm realizing just how deep and wonderful and rich God's Word is. And remember to recount God's faithfulness. In 1 Samuel 7, after God helped the Israelites win a battle against the Philistines, Samuel set up a stone and named it Ebenezer, which means, thus far the Lord has helped us. It was a tangible reminder of God's faithfulness in the middle of difficulty. I've had some people keep a journal, and they called it the Ebenezer Journal to remind them of God's love and faithfulness during their dry seasons. So each day, or even once a week, you write down one or two ways God has been faithful, big or small. It could be an answered prayer from years ago, a moment of provision, a kind word from a friend at just the right time, or how he carried you through a hard season in your marriage or with your kids. When your feelings run dry, flipping back through these pages rebuilds trust and stirs gratitude. It becomes a beautiful legacy you can even share with your children or spouse if you feel comfortable. I know I have a prayer journal, and so that is where I put my morning prayers. So it's kind of like this Ebenezer journal, Where it allows me to be able to look at how am I praying? How am I presenting to God? Where's my focus? And then it allows me to look back and go, gosh, all the ways that God has already been present or has answered prayers. But then it also allows me to see where is my heart? Where has my intentions been? It shows me patterns of where have been my thoughts and my emotions and allows me to be able to do some course correction. If necessary. These things can help us shift from, God feels far away, to, look how far he's brought me. Again, I had one woman who, she started an Ebenezer journal. She's actually the one who described that concept to me. I hadn't heard of that specifically before. And she described she wanted to start it during a season that was pretty hard in her marriage. And so every night she would write down even the smallest ways she saw God at work in her husband. So maybe through an apology he did, or a scripture that came to mind when the two of them were talking, or simply just gratitude that everyone in their family was healthy. And after a month, she said, Melissa, I thought God was silent, but when I looked back at my journal, I realized He had been faithful the whole time. It helped her relationship with God and increased her gratefulness for her husband. Another way to reconnect with God is to reintroduce awe and wonder. Make each day intentionally about finding God and the evidence of Him all around you. Go outside, look at the sky, the trees, your child's face. Listen to worship music while doing dishes. Read a passage slowly and imagine yourself in the story. Dryness often steals our sense of wonder. Intentionally seeking it invites the Holy Spirit to refresh us. As Philippians 4:8 Reminds us, finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. Training our eyes to see God's goodness everywhere shifts our hearts back to Him. Another way we can reconnect is by serving or connecting in our community. Sometimes the best way to feel close to God again is to love His people. Join a small group or text encouragement to a friend. Serve at a church or even just listen well to your spouse. I have my Forward Path Community. Connecting with other Christians can often help when our own tank is low. And then address what is actually causing your drain. Dryness in our faith is often connected to what's happening in our everyday lives: busyness, Maybe sin that we're holding onto, poor sleep, constant scrolling, or even the mental load of parenting teens, managing a home can quietly crowd out our time with God. Gently examine your current rhythms without shame and self-condemnation. Just ask, what's been taking up the most space in my mind and schedule today? Are there habits that leave you feeling emptier rather than fuller? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you 1 or 2 things that might be draining your spiritual energy. Then make 1 small, realistic adjustment. Perhaps maybe setting a phone curfew, or protecting 10 to 15 minutes in the morning before the house wakes up, or going to bed earlier a few nights a week, or maybe confessing something you've been carrying alone. When I've shared these tips with different clients, They may seem small, but they've created fresh space and excitement for the Holy Spirit to move. Remember, small adjustments done consistently with your mind and heart turned towards Jesus can lead to big renewals. It's also making sure that you're anchoring yourself in your identity in Christ. One of the most powerful things I've learned, both personally and as a therapist and coach, is that dry seasons are the perfect time to go back to what never changes: who God says you are. There was a time in my own life coming out of years of insecurity and comparison when my feelings didn't match the truth of God's Word. I felt unseen and inadequate. But speaking Scripture over myself daily— I am chosen. I am loved. I am complete in Jesus. Slowly, those truths sank deeper into my thoughts. That foundation has strengthened my view of myself, which then allowed me to be able to see who I am in Him, to be able to develop that humble confidence, which then in turn strengthened my marriage and my calling more than anything else. Dryness doesn't change your identity. It's an invitation to root yourself more deeply in it. So to wrap this up, please remember dry seasons are not the end of your faith journey. They're often the beginning of a deeper one, whether through honest prayer, maybe that Ebenezer journal, renewed awe, or ensuring that you are anchored to your true identity in Christ. God is faithfully waiting to meet you right where you are. This week, I challenge you to pick one practical step from this episode and do it every day for the next 7 days. Just show up. Tell God honestly, I'm here because I want to be close to you again, even if I maybe don't feel like it right now. Write it down, pray it, share it in the comments or in our Forward Path Community— what you chose. Your story could be the encouragement someone else needs. When we stay close to Jesus, we have more love, grace, and patience to pour into ourselves so we can pour into our marriages and our homes. Which is exactly what this podcast is all about. So let me pray for you. Heavenly Father, thank You that even when our feelings run dry, Your love never does. You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. For every friend listening who feels distant or distracted, please draw them near. Replace any shame with gentle conviction, routine with renewed wonder, and dryness with the living water Only You provide. Give them one simple step to take today and meet them right there. Strengthen their marriages and homes as they draw closer to You. We trust You to finish the good works You've started in each of us. In Your name, Jesus Christ, amen. That's all for today, friend. Thank you for walking the stretch of the path with me. If today's episode encouraged you, here's how you can grow deeper with me. First, could you do 2 quick things? Hit subscribe or follow so you never miss an episode, and share it with one friend who needs this message. If you wanna go deeper this week, subscribe to my free weekly email for a quick breakdown of this episode, key scriptures, and the simple action steps that you can take for your faith and identity in Christ. It's like having a personal coach right in your inbox. Go to melissagendreau.com/path-email. Until next Monday, keep shining, keep growing, and keep moving forward God's way. See you soon, and God bless!