Every dry season, every scathing wind that rips at us where we are most vulnerable, God uses to build our strength, to increase our perseverance and our faith in Him. I believe He allows us to go through periods of raw discomfort so that when the prophesied times of testing come, we will not be like “the colleagues who are spoiled for water.” We will not wither away because of a lack of strong roots. The dry, uncomfortable conditions of both daily life and seasons of life keep us digging deeper, spreading our roots deeper into the Rock who is our foundation.