Are you drying out?

Running to the table with the supplies, we laid everything out in front of us. Tiny cookie cutters, tools, rollers, and containers full of pastel playdough were scattered all around us.

“I’m going to make a sunshine face,” my daughter proclaimed as she reached for the yellow container.

But as she pulled out the dough, her face fell.

It had dried out.

We had just used it a few days before, but in the rush to clean up, the container hadn’t been secured properly. Now, the playdough was dry, cracked, and unusable.

Playdough is so much fun when it’s fresh and pliable. The possibilities are endless as creativity flourishes.

But when it dries out, it cracks and breaks. What was once soft and moldable becomes hardened and unusable.

The neglect leads to dryness.

The same can be true in our spiritual lives.

If we want to be used by the Lord, we need to remain open to His shaping—willing to let Him mold us into the people He created us to be. We do this by staying connected to Him, learning His heart and His ways, and reading His Word.

Doing these things keeps our hearts soft and responsive to His shaping.

But when we neglect our connection to the Potter, our hearts can begin to dry out. We can become hardened and less open to His molding.

How do we know if we’re becoming spiritually dry?

Jesus tells us that we are known by our fruit—by what comes out of us. Are anger, rage, malice, slander, and hurtful words becoming more evident in our lives?

Or are we becoming more like the One who is shaping us?

But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

Colossians 3:8–10

The good news is that when we recognize areas of dryness in our lives, we don’t have to stay that way. When we spend time with Him, seek His heart, and surrender ourselves to His hands, He continues His work in us.

If you need a simple place to begin, pray this prayer with me:

Father, mold me and make me into the person You want me to be. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Thoughts to Ponder:

• Is there an area of your life where you’ve become hardened to God’s shaping?

• What is one way you can intentionally spend time with the Lord this week and remain connected to Him?