Bearing Fruit in Times of Drought: What 2023 Taught Me

On May 30th, two weeks before I packed up my life in California and traveled halfway across the country to move to another state, I journaled a quote from John C. Maxwell. “If we are growing, we are always going to be outside our comfort zone.” 2023 put me outside my comfort zone in every possible way. I continued writing in that journal entry a verse from the book of Jeremiah, a verse I didn’t quite understand fully until I took a deep dive into that place outside my comfort zone.

“Blessed is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the LORD. And whose hope and confident expectation is the LORD. For he will be nourished like a tree planted by waters that spreads out its roots by the river; And will not fear the heat when it comes; But its leaves will be green and moist. And it will not be anxious and concerned in a year of drought nor stop bearing fruit.” -Jeremiah 17:7-8

I continued to write in that journal…

“This is all part of God’s plan to stretch me and grow me in my faith, to remind me that my security isn’t in a job or my finances, but it’s in the LORD.”

As Ann Voskamp writes in her book, WayMaker, “Deserts are places of dependence on God. Deserts are not places where God deserts you but a place deserted of noise so you can hear a word from God. Every wilderness holds God’s tenderness, and the driest of deserts can be the holy of holies…the WayMaker always leads into deserts not to desert His own people but to lead to an appetite for more of God alone. The desert that seems in the way, it’s making a way to lean on the Way Himself.”

So, here I am, leaving behind everything I have ever known. A job I love, the state I was born and raised in, friends that are more like family, a church that is home, and not to mention the mountains.
One month, two months, six months go by and I’m still unemployed. A familial situation results in many sleepless and tear filled nights. My storage unit gets broken into and precious photographs are stolen. And, I’m feeling homesick. And, weary. And, tired from all of it.

It seems like nothing’s happening, it seems like my prayers are being buried underneath the sand, it seems like I’m lost and have been misguided to the wrong place, it seems very much like a desert.

But I’ve walked through deserts before. I’ve lived outside my comfort zone before. But usually, it’s not until I’ve made my way through it that I’ve seen God’s hand so clearly. However, this time around, I learned something else. You don’t have to wait until you get to the other side of the desert before you see God’s hand so clearly in the here and now.

To the man or woman who trusts and relies on God, he or she will still bear fruit.

Yes, obeying the voice of God led me straight into a storm, straight into a dry place that had me questioning everything. But as I pushed through it and silenced the noise and fixated my eyes off my circumstances, I found the holy of holies. I realized how necessary this desert was, although trust me, it took me awhile to get to this place of revelation. The truth is there was so much that God needed to do inside of me. And, there is still so much that He is doing now. And, will continue to do. Really, I can’t even begin to scratch the surface of all that He has done and taught and spoken to me, but I will tell you this…

…If you find yourself in a frustrating place, if you find yourself in a season of waiting, if you find yourself wondering where God is in all of this, let me be the first to say that this season, if you let it, could be one of the sweetest seasons of your life. It could take you to a deeper place of devotion, intimacy, and fellowship with Him. Relationship, above everything else. That is what God wants from us. The fruit that comes from a deep, abiding relationship with Him is so so sweet. The only one stopping you from bearing fruit in the middle of the drought is you. Let go and lean on Him like never before. If you don’t know how to let go, pray and ask God to help you to let go and surrender yourself and your plans into His hands. Give your season over to Him and tune your ears to hear His gentle and loving voice speaking softly above all the noise.

God is not withholding anything from you. Most likely, it could be that you are the one who is withholding from Him. Clinging so tightly to your plans and your expectations, you can’t hear or see God in the life you wanted for yourself. Not my will, but His will be done is a prayer we pray. But do we truly mean it? The desert will test that prayer. The desert will bring about delays, setbacks and detours that will have us closely examining our hearts, our motives, and our desires. The desert will bring our will to His feet.

The truth is God uses the delays, the setbacks, and the detours to take us to a place that we couldn’t arrive at any other way. As Ann Voskamp said, “The driest of deserts can be the holiest of holies.” Truly, that is exactly what this season has been for me. God has used this season to take my heart and spirit to a place it’s never been before. Like C.S. Lewis once said, I have learned, “Relying on God has to start over everyday as if nothing has yet been done.” Through the discomfort and the uncertainty, God has used this season to rid of the idols of self-sufficiency, need for control, and self centeredness in my life. That’s just what He does. It’s a sanctifying process. Poured out in love. Because ultimately He wants us. And, He wants us to want Him alone. His will, His plan, His way. Because His way is so much better than what we could ever dream up on our own.

I’m still walking through the desert, I’m still waiting on God, but my posture and attitude is completely different. Rather than trying to figure everything out, I’m living in a place of peace, ridden of the anxiety that had been trying to rob me of the present and the ways that God is speaking to me, just wanting to spend time with me, and be with me. Relationship, above everything else.

This season has been…

…an invitation to stillness, to be still and know that He is God. An invitation to rest and come to Him, casting aside every burden and weight at His feet. An invitation to perfect peace by setting my mind on Him. An invitation to let striving cease, to please no one else but Him alone.

I’m grateful that I didn’t have to wait until I was on the other side of the desert to see how God was working in my life all this time. It doesn’t mean it’s easy. And, it doesn’t mean I’m still having to bring my worries and frustrations before God every single day. But, it does mean that in the middle of the drought, I’m bearing so much fruit as I spend time in sweet communion with Him. Everyday, my relationship with Him is growing sweeter still. And for that, I couldn’t be more grateful.