Could Feeling Lost be a Chance for a Soul Awakening?

Inside: Have you been spiritually lost? Did God seem silent? These dry spells might be the opportunity for a soul awakening. These 6 tips will help you grow in faith and refresh your soul!

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When I was a teenager, I went hunting with my boyfriend.  He did the hunting, and I went to spend time with him. We were hunting in an area where I had never been.

Of course, I suggested I could drive the deer to him, isn’t that what good girlfriends do? Foolishly, I started to walk through the woods, without water or a compass.

Needless to say, I got lost. Really lost. Notably, three hours crawling through the forest lost.

When I was aimlessly wandering, I was without these items:

Water

Food

Comfort

Protection from the elements and animals

Hope

Boyfriend/ People

 

My whole demeanor changed. As a result, I was weary, negative and just struggling mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally. I ached for what I was missing.

Does this sound familiar?

Are you experiencing a wilderness right now?

Does your faith feel weak and circumstances seem overpowering?

Do you feel lost?

 

Here’s the key, we will experience these times of weak faith and loneliness. The resources will seem scarce, and we will feel like just clawing to hold on. The God who protects us looks absent, so evil is ever present and powerful.

During these seasons, don’t we feel like nothing good can come out of them? It’s so consuming and we feel like we will be lucky if we can come out alive.

Hopelessness appears to be stuck like a cling-on and we can’t shake it free.

I’ve been there. The season was the hardest of my life. I wondered if I’d make it out.

Where was God? Did He have a rescue mission?

I’d been faithful.

My trust had been in Him.

I ached for God’s presence.

I was desperate for His love.

Could this be a Soul Awakening?

If we shift our perspective though, these seasons can be a time of great growth in faith.
Could these times be a soul awakening?

What do I mean by a soul awakening?

For me, I have been a Christian from before I can remember. I was a sleeping Christian, I knew religion but I didn’t know the relationship. God was just a part of my life like the air was a part of my breathing.

During this hard period, I was awakened by a need for God. A physical need like a need for food. I couldn’t get through my day without Him.

There was a greater realization of God and how everything that happens is part of a bigger picture. My purpose was part of this picture and I couldn’t sit back and let myself do nothing.

My suffering during this time caused a new hunger for God, learning about Him, growing more like Him and including Him in my everyday life.

The truth is:

Aching for God causes adjustments in our soul. Share on X

As God was silent, I had to cling to His Word and believe what it told me regardless of what I saw or how lost I felt.

(Psalm 39:9, MSG.) What am I doing in the meantime, Lord? Hoping, that’s what I’m doing—hoping.

What I Learned from that Season

Obviously, I made it out of that season. I was battered and scarred, but yet, stronger, wiser and more faithful.
In this season, when I look back, my faith grew the greatest it ever has.

If you’re there now, by all means, I want to encourage you.

You’ll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Your Turbulent TimesChicken Soup for the Prisoner’s Soul: 101 Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit of Hope, Healing and Forgiveness (Chicken Soup for the Soul)God Will Use This for Good: Surviving the Mess of LifeWalk It Out: The Radical Result of Living God’s Word One Step at a TimeSelfLess: Living Your Part in the Big Story of God

What Should We Do When We Get Stuck in these Seasons?

Trust God’s course. He sees the whole picture. Our human eyes have limited vision. Many times we have tunnel vision, don’t we? We focus on what we want to be done, but God sees everything.

Accept His provisions. He knows what we need. He will send us resources to bolster our faith. A kind word from a friend. A song that quenches the immediate thirst for our soul. Or the sermons that satisfy our soul’s hunger.

Believe the rescue mission is coming. He will deliver. We need to patiently wait in expectation. We choose to believe. Therefore, when doubts settle in, we can get into the Word, or listen to Christian music. We find small refreshes of rescue in these moments.

Hope in reengagement. We can hope in God bringing us through with gifts found only during this time. Better, stronger and more faithful are gifts found in this barren environment.

Thank God for His protection. Nothing can happen to us that hasn’t been pre-approved by God. He is keeping us safe in His grip.

Accept discomfort. The work God is doing is painful and causes us to struggle. The work of making us better can only be done through this process. God is making us more like Him.

Wilderness living creates wholly living in Him.

¹² God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him (James 1:12, NLT).