Abstract
Many believers experience phases of spiritual dryness in their lives coupled with feelings of exhaustion, confusion, and emotional emptiness. Even religious sisters and brothers experience such phases. But how do they cope with phases of spiritual dryness, and what resources do they use to overcome them? In a qualitative study, 30 religious brothers and sisters utilized four main categories of resources: internal reflective resources, internal spiritual resources, external personal resources, and external other resources. A primary strategy does not seem to exist for overcoming phases of spiritual dryness. In the context of this study, therefore, several resources emerged that were used in accordance with the triggers and were applied against the background of the life situation, context and attitudes, perceptions, behavioral competencies, resources, and abilities of the person concerned.
Highlights
Stressful situations are described as personal crises that cannot be adequately managed with the usual repertoire of action and reaction (Tugade et al, 2004)
Relying on the abovementioned strategies to cope with spiritual dryness, a survey of 620 members of the Seventh-day Adventist Free Church in Central Europe on their spiritual life and on spiritual dryness showed that commonly used strategies for coping with spiritual dryness were devotion, trust in God and personal prayer, and meditation and Scripture reading, followed by openness, talking with others, and self-care (Büssing et al, 2020c)
We focused on coping strategies for spiritual dryness
Summary
Stressful situations are described as personal crises that cannot be adequately managed with the usual repertoire of action and reaction (Tugade et al, 2004). German Bishop Heiner Wilmer warned that during such phases of spiritual dryness the “absence” of God should not be filled “with more emptiness” because this “is one of the most important desert lessons of all,” namely, “to allow emptiness without losing confidence in fullness, that is infinitely difficult and at the same time infinitely central.”. He argues that no one ‘has’ God in terms of a magic buffer to fill all personal emptiness forever: “The fullness of God, that is the paradox, includes emptiness and its experience. 15% used strategies for coping with periods of spiritual dryness never or infrequently, 30% sometimes (these were regarded as less effective strategies), 35% frequently, and 19% regularly (they were regarded as effective strategies)
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