The Dark Night of the Soul

He leads me …

1.     Psalm 42:5

Why are you sad, O my soul? Why have you become troubled within me? Hope in God, for I will praise Him again for His help of being near me. (NLV) 

2.     Psalm 13

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way?

How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day?

How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

Turn and answer me, O Lord my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.

But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me.

I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me. (NLT)

3.     2 Corinthians 5:7

For we walk by faith, not by sight [living our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God’s promises] (AMP)

When we look at psalms like Psalm 42 and Psalm 13 above and try to summarise what the psalmist was feeling, we start thinking of words to describe the emotions of a ‘soul cast down’, a soul in turmoil. According to Psalm 13 it appears the problem is that the Lord has abandoned the psalmist.

The feeling of being abandoned by God is not uncommon. In Psalm 13, the psalmist cries out, ‘How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?’ Many Christians wonder what is wrong when this happens.

The psalmist was facing despair because God appeared to have deserted them, and the psalmist was desperate to experience their soul connection with the Lord once again. Back where God could be seen in the events of the psalmist’s life and good things were happening.

God’s apparent absence does not mean something is wrong in a Christian’s life. And it does not mean that they have lost their faith. Emotional ups and downs are normal responses to life – for both Christians and non-Christians. We should expect them and accept them. The Lord will use them to increase our desire for Him and also deepen our relationship with Him.[1]

Some folk refer to this as the Dark Night of the Soul. The name was first established by Saint John of the Cross, who was a sixteenth-century Spanish Carmelite monk (1542-1591). He wrote about the Dark Night of the Soul when he was imprisoned for eight months for having alternative religious views.

While dealing with the various hardships of his imprisonment, he found himself dealing with the disturbing and uncontrollable loneliness caused by spiritual darkness. Saint John came to see that the following three phases that overlap are what many Christians go through as they grow in their union with the Lord.

Stage One. New Disciples Love God for the Pleasure He Gives (‘Purgation’ - purification)

St. John of the Cross called this first stage in our spiritual development ‘purgation’ because when we trust Jesus Christ as our Saviour, He begins to purge us of our sins and cleanse us from every wrong that we have been a part of (1 John 1:9 [TLB]; 2:15-17). Rejecting sin enables God in His grace to move in and bless us.

 Stage Two. Young Disciples Love God for the Relationship with Him (‘Illumination’ - being enlightened)

The early blessings we receive seem to give way to increasing hardships.  We find that we develop as disciples of Jesus as He uses both the stresses and opportunities in our life.  We get to develop a two way relationship with Christ, bringing a closeness and strength from Him.

We discover that the Bible has so much wisdom and knowledge about how a Christian should live. We read it, study it, meditate on it, memorize portions, and learn how to pray and apply it in our lives.  St. John of the Cross calls this stage ‘Illumination’ because God’s Word clarifies the way to live the new Christian life. 

Stage Three. Spiritual Fathers and Mothers Love God for God (‘Union’ - intimacy)

People like St. John of the Cross, have taught that spiritually mature Christians grow towards a ‘union’ with Christ.  The key to this is submission to the Lord’s will in all things. We learn to hand it all over to God’s will, praying, ‘Lord, your will, your way, and your time’ and then we do not take back any aspect of what we have prayed for to try and keep some control.

Consolation and Desolation - Many early writers about Scripture and church history refer to two recurring movements of God in the Christians spiritual life. They are spiritual peaks called ‘consolation’ and spiritual pits called ‘desolation.’  Both are essential learning opportunities in our apprenticeship with Jesus.

Consolation is when God helps us to feel his presence. We feel that we are blessed and encouraged by Him.  When any aspect of our lives show us God’s goodness then we have received consolation

Desolation refers to a trial where God feels absent. We look for blessings from Him at church or in prayer but we do not seem to experience Him. This is desolation and but is not the same as God’s discipline.

From the Lord’s point of view the defining point in our Christian development (sanctification) is how we respond to our hardships and difficulties. We learn to live these times primarily with the Lord as our guide.

What are the Purposes of Desolation?

Why would God want us to experience desolation?  Why wouldn’t he just keep giving us more consolation as we seek him?

Desolation (like all trials) is a time of testing that shows up our failings which we need to bring into God’s light and love, so that He can help us deal with them. We are encouraged to be like David and pray, ‘Search me, O God, and know my heart; test my thoughts. Point out anything you find in me that makes you sad, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.’ (Psalm 139:23-24 TLB).

 Times of desolation from God show that we need to learn to trust and love God simply for who He is.  This means being discouraged from depending on feeling God’s presence to love and serve Him.  Desolation teaches us to go beyond our feelings and to know God more than just by feelings alone.

 The result should be that like Abrahams where we learn not to make our own Ishmael, but to wait for God’s Isaac. Then when God gives us an Isaac we offer him back to God.  Just like Abrahams experience, God gives us what He knows we need when we need it. Ultimately what we really need is Him.[2]

Dear Reader – If you have found some value in this blog, please feel free to send a copy on to your family and friends. Kind regards, John

[1] Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul? Pastor Cameron Arensen, Evangelical Community Church of Abu Dhabi;

https://www.eccad.org/sermons/sermon/2013-06-14/why-are-you-cast-down-o-my-soul#

[2] Growing through a Dark Night of the Soul, Bill Gaultiere, Soul Shepherding

https://www.soulshepherding.org/growing-through-a-dark-night-of-the-soul/