Video Clip: Jesus Revolution the heart of the story!
Soul Care 105: Soul Care in dark times
Thesis: Soul care is an important part of growing wholistically in life’s trials. It’s about becoming mature in our walk with Jesus. It requires our attention and intentional care to be healthy and whole in dark times.
Scripture:
“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies” (2 Cor. 4:7-10).
Note: But it is also important to know that there will be dark times of the soul in our lives. In these times we may feel depressed, overwhelmed, stressed, grief stricken, alone, persecuted, isolated, trapped, hopeless and even spiritually stuck. The key is to understand they will come and go – but we must handle them in a healthy spiritual way and know Jesus is with us through it all.
What is the “Dark Night of the Soul?”
The term "dark night (of the soul)" is used in Christianity for a spiritual crisis in a journey towards union with God, like that described by Saint John of the Cross.
Typically for a believer in the dark night of the soul, spiritual disciplines (such as prayer and consistent devotion to God) suddenly seem to lose all their experiential value; traditional prayer is extremely difficult and unrewarding for an extended period of time during this "dark night.“
The individual may feel as though God has suddenly abandoned them or that his or her prayer life has collapsed.
It coincides with the moment in Jesus’ life when on the Cross he cried out, “Father, Father! Why have You forsaken me?”
The story of Bethany Hamilton: Soul Surfer share insights from the movie.
Quotes Bethany:
“I believe in Jesus Christ, and I believe He gave me the passion and determination to continue surfing. You fall off the horse, and you get back on. I had to go for it.” Bethany Hamilton
Introduction:
Today I want to talk about the Dark Night of the Soul and soul care in the midst of it. As we read through the passages of Scripture we see people of God going through dark times of the soul. In other word’s times that are hard and filled with death, persecution, beatings, arrests, executions of friends, severe stress, fear, depression, hopelessness, grief, trauma and some who were questioning, “Where is God?” We see people struggling through grief at the loss of friends and loved ones. Others had to flee their jobs and homes. It was a dark time for the church in Acts. Some people have called this the “Dark times of the soul” when we are faced with much suffering and very little answers from God.
John Ortberg states, “If you ask people who don’t believe in God why they don’t, the number one reason will be suffering. If you ask people who believe in God when they grew most spiritually, the number one answer will be suffering (Soul Keeping: Caring for the Most Important Part of You (p. 179).
Suffering and hardship is a reality of this life on earth. Everyone at some point in their life will face dark times of the soul. The question rises up on “How will you handle it?” “How will you respond to God?” “How will you respond to others?”
This week I received my monthly magazine from AACC and here was the front page: Christian Counseling Today, “Mental Health Among Todays Teens and Young Adults, Volume 26:” Immediately the subject struck my heart!
I opened to one of the articles written by Tim Clinton, President of AACC – I met Time years ago while attending this convention many years in a row – we chattered and got to know each other I was impressed with his love for Jesus and for the church. His article Kids, Life and Mental Health was straight from his heart: He opens his article with this statement, “Growing up should be all about belly laughs, bikes, best friends, sports, being loved, (I say camp, church groups, and services) and maybe ice cream.” But not is not the reality today in our world, he noted the following statistics about today’s young people:
• Since COVID and all that we have been through, suicide is now the second leading cause of death in America among 10- to 24 year olds. It has risen more than 57% in recent years – I say it is definitely a dark time of the soul for many young people today in the USA!
• Mental health emergency room visits in 2020 increased by 24% for children between five and 11 and more than 30% for those ages 12-17.
• Over the past year, 16.39% of America’s youth suffered a major depressive episode.
• Additionally, more than 2.7 million youth in the U.S. encounter severe depression, and multiracial youth are at the greatest risk.
• Also in the last year, 6.34% of youth in the U.S. had a substance use disorder.
• The other major issue for young people is accessible mental healthcare (especially Christian/faith based healthcare).
o Due to location especially rural and urban
o Due to finances
o Due to lack of mental and spiritual healthcare workers and professional mental healthcare workers.
o Children with mental health needs have become one of the most undeserved population in todays culture.
Question: What can you and I do to stop the oncoming tsunami that has already made landfall in our country?
Highlight AACC Convention in Nashville, Tn September 13-16th “Know Hope” at Opryland Hotel! Highlight AACC American Association of Christian Counselors check it out on their website aacc.net.
Wayne Cordeiro states: Let me make one thing clear: I hate being sifted (Going through a Dark time). Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest and you realize that I’m not all that spiritual, we can get on with how to stomach this distasteful medicine. I know, I know, I’m supposed to be thankful in all things (1 Thess. 5: 16), but when the struggles linger, I weaken. It’s not always the depth of the pain. It is the length of it. As I have mentioned, a crisis is a terrible thing to waste. I guess I have become humbler, wiser, softer, more understanding through the sifting process, but forgive me, it’s still distasteful. But you cannot progress without it. The concept of being sifted has both a negative and a positive connotation. At its core, being sifted means going through challenges and trials as a leader (As a Christian). That’s the negative. No one likes to go through trials. Yet the process is unavoidable. A leader (Christian) will be sifted; that’s not the question. The question is will he emerge from the sifting as a successful leader? (Successful Christian?) How will he respond to the trials and challenges he faces? Consider the following passages that describe the process of being sifted. “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers. — Luke 22: 31– 32 NIV. Cordeiro, Wayne (2012-04-23). Sifted: Pursuing Growth through Trials, Challenges, and Disappointments (Exponential Series) (pp. 29-30). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
Wayne also add these sobering thoughts, “The choice we face is simple: will we trust God and look to him throughout the difficulty we face, regardless of the cause, or not? I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. — John 16: 33 NIV In this passage, we learn that Jesus does not promise his disciples an easy road to travel. Rather, he acknowledges that somehow trouble finds its way into your daily calendar. If you’re in any position of leadership, I have two words for you: expect trouble! Of course, you must outlast it; you musn’t succumb.” Cordeiro, Wayne (2012-04-23). Sifted: Pursuing Growth through Trials, Challenges, and Disappointments (Exponential Series) (pp. 30-31). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
As I ponder Wayne’s thoughts I must agree with Him – I too hate dark times of the soul! I prefer to live in a world where everything is filled with happiness and ease. I prefer life to be easy and comfortable not hard and challenging. I would prefer a life where everyone likes me and treats me with kindness. I prefer a world that really does lover one another and love God but the truth is that is not a reality in this world today. It bothers me when Christians get all the blame even from other Christians because people turn away from Jesus. But these dark times are real – they will come – you will face them whether you want to or not!
John Ortberg adds, “Because the soul is the deepest expression of the person, the soul is the place of greatest pain. We do not speak of the dark night of the mind, or the will, or even the spirit. Only the soul. The dark night of the soul. The phrase comes from a brilliant Carmelite monk named John who lived in Spain in the sixteenth century” (Soul Keeping: Caring for the Most Important Part of You (p. 181).
These times will come as we see they came to the Acts New Testament Church and to the apostles. Yes, God poured out His Spirit on them in Acts Two and He was with them through the hard time but they were never alone! And yes it was God’s will for them to face these difficult times and push through to the other side.
John Ortberg adds, “But there will come a time when God will bid them (us) to grow deeper. He will remove the previous consolation of the soul in order to teach it virtue. . . .” In the dark night, my prayers feel like they reach no higher than the ceiling. (Although, Dallas often said, if we truly understand how radically present God is in our world, reaching the ceiling is more than high enough.) In the dark night, the Bible I read turns to ashes (Seems powerless). In the dark night, words and books and songs that once spoke to my soul now leave me cold…The practices that once fed my soul feed it no more. John of the Cross, writing from his prison cell, says in the dark night the soul is pained but not hopeless. “God’s love is not content to leave us in our weakness, and for this reason he takes us into a dark night. He weans us from all of the pleasures by giving us dry times and inward darkness . . . . No soul will ever grow deep in the spiritual life unless God works passively in that soul by means of the dark night.” (Hard times – times of trial). We have a hard time with the dark night. Our churches are practical places, and we generally tell people the answer to any spiritual problem is more: more prayer, more serving, more giving, more trying (Soul Keeping: Caring For the Most Important Part of You (pp. 182-183).
But in this life Dark times must be faced with faith and not fear, with hope and not hopelessness, with love and not anger, with grace and not judgment and in the end the light will break through!
The dark night of the soul. This phenomenon describes a malady that the greatest of Christians in the Bible and in Church history have faced. It was the malady that provoked the following heroes of the faith:
• David to soak his pillow with tears.
• It was the malady that earned for Jeremiah the sobriquet, “The Weeping Prophet.”
• It was the malady that so afflicted Martin Luther that his melancholy threatened to destroy him.
This is no ordinary fit of anguish, but it is a depression that is linked to a crisis of faith, a crisis that comes when one senses the absence of God or gives rise to a feeling of abandonment by Him when the world around us is persecuting us, killing others, when I am facing severe losses, when the light seems to have gone out, when my marriage is falling apart or when I feel helpless.
Spiritual and soul dark times are real – they come – and yes they will pass. We ask how a person of faith could experience such spiritual hardship, but whatever provokes it does not take away from its reality. It hurts, it cuts deep into the soul, it rattles our world and yes it causes us to question.
Scripture States:
“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies” (2 Cor. 4:7-10).
One author addresses this passage with these thoughts, “This passage indicates the limits of depression that we experience. The depression may be profound, but it is not permanent, nor is it fatal. Notice that the apostle Paul describes our condition in a variety of ways. He says that we are “afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down.” These are powerful images that describe the conflict that Christians must endure, but in every place that he describes this phenomenon, he describes at the same time its limits. Afflicted, but not crushed. Perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Struck down, but not destroyed. So we have this pressure to bear, but the pressure, though it is severe, does not crush us” (From: Got questions.com).
Scripture Passages speaking of dark times:
Acts 7:54-8:3: The Stoning of Stephen and the persecution of the church by Saul
54When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him.
55But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
56“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him,
58dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
60Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
1And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
2Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.
3But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
Observation: Do you think this was a dark time for early church? Can you imagine what was going on in the minds of the Christians? The grief, the fear, the loss and the stress?
Acts 12:1-18: Peter’s imprisonment, execution of James
1It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.
2He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
3When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
4After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
5So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
6The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.
7Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.
Observation: Once again can you place yourself in this moment of time? Was in a dark night of the soul for some? Another person is killed for the message of Jesus and another is placed in prison looking to be executed too? We know for Peter the church gathered and prayed and God supernaturally released Peter!
Acts 16:16-40: Paul and Silas beaten and imprisoned
19When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.
20They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar
21by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”
22The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten.
23After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.
24Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
26Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.
27The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.
28But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
29The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.
30He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
Observation: Paul and Silas are stripped, beaten and imprisoned placed in chains in prison. Would you not say that this could be a dark time for the soul? How did they react to this unfair and harsh treatment? They prayed and they sang hymns and talked to the other prisoners. God releases them and the jailer and his household get saved.
T.S. - So what do we do? How do we respond in these dark times? Let’s look at the examples of the apostles in Acts and explore some of the Bibles thoughts on dealing with the dark times:
I. We do nothing. We wait on God and stay faithful.
a. It’s important in these moments that we wait on God with faith.
i. Moore states, “During the dark night there is no choice but to surrender control, give in to unknowing, and stop and listen to whatever signals of wisdom might come along. It’s a time of enforced retreat and perhaps unwilling withdrawal. The dark night is more than a learning experience; it’s a profound initiation into a realm that nothing in the culture, so preoccupied with external concerns and material success, prepares you for.” ? Thomas Moore, Dark Nights of the Soul: A Guide to Finding Your Way Through Life's Ordeals
ii. I know some of you are thinking, “Do nothing? Are you kidding me? I have to do something? I have to fix this dark time? I don’t like being in this position – it’s not fair – it’s not right- it’s not God!
1. Let me stop you there --- maybe it is God’s plan for you in this moment?
a. Jesus said, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” — John 17: 15 NIV
b. Cordeiro states, “If we fail to listen to what God is trying to teach us through these experiences, we end up misreading God’s language.”
i. He also adds, “God must first accomplish something in you before he can accomplish something through you.”
b. I heard a great sermon on Job from Brennan during spiritual emphasis week here at CHS were he walked the students through the life of Job and how he stayed focused on God through the whole ordeal of “The dark night of his soul.”
i. Scripture text: Job 1 describes his dark time:
1. His oxen and donkeys were taken by the Sabean’s and all of his workers are killed.
2. His herds of sheep were destroyed by fire along with the shepherds.
3. His camels were raided by the Chaldeans and carried off and all the servants who tended them were killed.
4. His children were at a party and a tornado ( A great wind) came and destroyed the house and they all died when it collapsed in on them.
ii. How did Job respond to the horrible news – to the dark night of the soul in his life? Did he curse God! Blame other believers?
1. Job 1:20-22: Tells us!
a. 20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” 22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.”
i. Have you ever charged God with wrong doing?
ii. Have you ever blamed God as being unfair and evil?
b. How would you have responded in this horrific moment? How would your soul respond?
i. Your response in dark times is a reflection of the health and wholeness of your soul.
1. The true you comes out in the dark times of life! In the pressure moments of life!
2. Later Job’s friends come along thinking they will help him and after hearing his aching soul in Job 3-6 – they decide to speak and correct Job:
a. Eliphaz is the blamer and the shamer of Job.
i. “Job you sinned against God this is why this is happening to you!”
ii. Job 5:17: “Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.”
1. Repent you sinner – it’s all your fault!
b. Bildad is the answer-man see Job 8:
i. “Job your children sinned that is why they died.” “They deserved to be crushed by the fierce wind!”
ii. “Job suck it up and do the following program and God will forgive you and restore you.”
1. “This 12 step program will help restore your position with God.”
iii. See Job 8:1-6!
c. Zophar – The redneck and the defender of God Job 11:1-6:
i. He beats Job up more with condemnation and judgment claiming he is defending God.
ii. John Ortberg states, “Modern churches with linear models of spiritual growth and large-scale models for devotional life rarely speak of or help people with the dark night. We are uncomfortable with it because we want to do something — because we sell formulas and steps and programs, and the dark night of the soul is not our program. The dark night is for souls that learn to wait.” Ortberg, John (2014-04-22). Soul Keeping: Caring For the Most Important Part of You (p. 185). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
1. In Western society we don’t think that we should suffer in this world! We think God should give us a life that is pain free, stress free and filled with stuff!
d. Job stayed true to God even when his friends were beating him up more and creating more suffering for his soul.
i. His own wife said “Curse God and die!”
e. But in Job 38 it says these words, “Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm.”
i. Job remained faithful to God in the midst of disaster and a dark night of the soul.
ii. God answered Him in this “Dark Time” – God will also answer you in your dark time too!
f. But he came through it with faith and truth:
i. Job 42: 7-12
1. He came through and it says in verse 12 “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first.”
2. Why because he persevered and stayed faithful to God!
c. The dark times of the soul come when you are dealing with loss and the grief that accompanies it.
i. Many people are often unprepared for grief and therefore their souls suffer more.
1. The Psalms did not shy away from grief and the darkness of the soul times.
a. Psalm 6:2-3: “My bones are in agony. My soul is in anguish. How long, O Lord, how long?”
ii. Grief is a normal cycle of life (The following from Grief Share: Session1):
1. Grief is not a sign of weakness.
a. Jesus grieved for Lazarus and the grief he saw in his sisters.
b. John 11:35 “Jesus wept.”
c. Zig Ziglar stated, “If there were no love there’d be no grief.”
2. Pretending you okay is not helpful for getting through the dark night of the soul.
a. Zig Ziglar stated, “When you’re grieving that’s not the time to be brave or strong, you need to let it show.”
3. Give yourself permission to grieve.
4. Expect your pain to come and go.
5. Remember the ABC’s of Grief:
a. Always be true to yourself!
b. Believe you will make it and believe in God’s Word!
c. Remember people do care so communicate your needs!
i. You are not alone!
ii. God is with you!
1. Share about “Grief Share.”
d. John states, “We have this hope as an anchor of the soul, firm and secure. HEBREWS 6: 19: The soul is a ship that needs an anchor.” Ortberg, John (2014-04-22). Soul Keeping: Caring For the Most Important Part of You (p. 189). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
i. He adds, “We all have two worlds, an outer world that is visible and public and obvious, and an inner world that may be chaotic and dark or may be gloriously beautiful. In the end, the outer world fades. We are left with the inner world. It is what we will take with us. I am an unceasing spiritual being with an eternal destiny in God’s glorious universe. “Do you regret anything?” someone asked him. “I regret the time I have wasted,” he answered. Huh? If there is any human being on the planet who has not wasted time, it is Dallas’ (Soul Keeping: Caring for the Most Important Part of You (p. 190).
ii. We all need to be reminded “We have an anchor for the storms of Life and His name is Jesus.”
T.S. – When we find ourselves in a dark time of the soul we need to wait on God and trust Him for the breakthrough. But we also need to remember that we are not God and therefore we need to press into His arms.
II. We remember that we are not God.
a. We hold on in faith and trust in God and understand that God knows what he is doing.
i. We understand that in dark times we need God’s Spirit and help. We cannot change the situation so we accept and don’t fight against it and his process.
ii. Wayne Cordeiro states, “God is sovereign. Remembering that simple and yet complex truth keeps us humble. God is always ultimately in control. Soaking in the knowledge of God’s sovereignty helps take the pressure off. It brings encouragement when circumstances around us seem out of control. God still asks that we pour out our hearts for him. He invites us to press forward strenuously, exerting our best efforts and working in all that we do for the sake of his glory.”
1. Cordeiro, Wayne (2012-04-23). Sifted: Pursuing Growth through Trials, Challenges, and Disappointments (Exponential Series) (p. 55). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
b. We ask for help because humility says “I can’t do this on my own!”
i. We ask others to pray for us.
1. In these dark times we seek help – Pride says, “Don’t ask for help!” “Don’t get counsel – don’t because you want to pretend your perfect!”
ii. We must seek counsel from others – but not like what Job received!
1. Pride says “You can fix this yourself! It’s kind of like when a person who is not a mechanic decides to fix his own car and makes it worse than it was before.”
a. We need to know our limitations and lose the pride!
iii. Bethany Hamilton: “God will give us the strength to be able to handle things. I mean, you can try to do it on your own, and sometimes you can pull off some stuff, but in the long run, it's much easier with Him by our side.”
1. She has learned without an arm to do many things but she also is willing to ask for help when she cannot do something!
a. Are you?
iv. Bethany Hamilton: “We all need that extra friend outside of our immediate family to talk about that extra stuff you wouldn't normally talk to your parents about.”
1. We all need someone to talk too – for advice and for help.
2. We need prayer from others!
c. We do less so He can do more through us.
i. We accept the fact that nothing I can do can change this dark time – it has to be lifted by the Holy Spirit.
1. Wayne reminds us, “In the end, God will not hold us accountable for the things we have done. He will hold us accountable for how much of what he asked us to do that we have done.” Cordeiro, Wayne (2012-04-23). Sifted: Pursuing Growth through Trials, Challenges, and Disappointments (Exponential Series) (p. 56). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
2. We just have to do our part and let God do the rest!
d. We let go of our need to hurry through it and instead we grow through it.
i. John Ortberg states, “The truth is when you are going through dark times - You can’t run in the dark. But I think, maybe, this time I know what he means. “Redeem the time,” the apostle Paul said, “because the days are evil.” The language is exactly right, I heard Dallas say once. The reason our souls hunger so is that the life we could be living so far exceeds our strangest dreams” … “I remember a phrase I had heard from him years ago, about how all of us lost souls allow ourselves to live in worry and anger and self-importance and pettiness when life with God is all around us: Your time is already in the pawn shop of lost souls. I think Dallas wanted his time back.”
1. Don’t hurry through life and dark times and miss the lesson God is trying to teach you!
ii. John makes this observation about a soul going through the dark time and in the process being redeemed. I watched him (Dallas) and thought of what a redeemed soul can be:
1. To be able to say yes or no without anxiety or duplicity
2. To speak with confidence and honesty
3. To be willing to disappoint anybody, yet ready to bless everybody
4. To have a mind filled with more noble thoughts than could ever be spoken
5. To share without thinking
6. To see without judging
7. To be so genuinely humble that each person I see would be an object of wonder
8. To love God
a. The above from Ortberg, John (2014-04-22). Soul Keeping: Caring For the Most Important Part of You (p. 191). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
e. We come to the understanding that God does not owe us – we owe Him!
i. Matt Slick stated, “One of the best things I learned in Seminary was when a professor wrote on the board "There is a God. You are not Him." Boy, has that proven true! Over the years I've discovered how unwise, inexperienced, and ignorant I really am. Also, I've noticed that God doesn't consult me with making decisions about running the universe. And, if that isn't humiliating enough, He doesn't take any of my suggestions about how things ought to be in my own life. I don't understand why God doesn't take my suggestions. But, it comes down to one thing: There is a God. I am not Him!”
1. He adds, “"There is a God. You are not Him," is a delightful piece of truth. Think about it. Who created the universe? Was it the infinite and wise God, or was it me... or you? I have not heard whether if God consulted any of you about how universe should be run. If He has, please let me know. But as it stands now, He doesn't need our help.”
a. Above from https://carm.org/christianity/devotions/there-god-you-are-not-him
ii. Matt adds, “If you truly understand that there is a God and that you are not Him, then you can begin to relinquish your own rights, hopes, desires, and wants and submit them to His will.”
iii. Quote: “The apostle Paul in writing to the Philippians gives them the admonition to be “anxious for nothing,” telling them that the cure for anxiety and dark times of the soul is found on one’s knees, that it is the peace of God that calms our spirit and dissipates anxiety. Again, we can be anxious and nervous and worried without finally submitting to ultimate despair.”
1. From http://www.gotquestions.org/dark-night-soul.html#ixzz3PUBdfVUc
2. Question: Are you ready to let go and let God bring the relief you seek?
T.S. – We need to realize we are not God and that we need help in the midst of this dark time but in the midst of the dark time of your soul look for and expect God’s comfort.
III. Look for God’s Comfort (It’s there! He’s there!)
a. Psalm 62:5-6: “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.”
i. Grief and going through a dark time can cloud your vision and keep you from seeing God’s way of comforting.
ii. Dr. Paul Tripp says in order to receive God’s comfort, you have to place yourself where His comfort is. Find it in prayer and the Bible, in time spent with Christians, in His creation, under the mentoring of a mature Christian, in God – pleasing music, in quiet time spent with God. In a Christian support group with others.
1. From Grief Share page 9
2. Are you asking for His comfort and seeking His comfort?
b. In these moments we need to talk to God like the psalmist did.
i. Psalm 34:18: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
ii. Psalm 31:9: “Be merciful to me, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief.”
iii. Psalm 34:19: “A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.”
iv. Psalm 139:12: “Even the darkness will not be dark to you (God); the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.”
v. Psalm 42:8: “By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me-a prayer to the God of my life.”
c. Homework to do in the dark times: Write a letter to God about your dark time or your grief like the Psalmist did.
i. Bethany Hamilton: “Strive to find things to be thankful for, and just look for the good in who you are!”
ii. Can you look for the good – can you communicate with God?
Conclusion:
Question: "What is a 'dark night of the soul'?"
Answer: “The phrase “dark night of the soul” comes from a poem by St. John of the Cross (1542-1591), a Spanish Carmelite monk and mystic, whose Noche obscura del alma is translated “The Dark Night of the Soul.” This eight-stanza poem outlines the soul’s journey from the distractions and entanglements of the world to the perfect peace and harmony of union with God. According to the poet, the “dark night of the soul” is synonymous with traveling the “narrow way” that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 7:13-14.” Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/dark-night-soul.html#ixzz3PUBdfVUc
Trials and Suffering and dark times are natural and we in the West need to learn to deal with them God’s way.
Quote: “Trials and suffering can lead to real spiritual melancholy. Maybe we have lost a job, a friend, our home, a spouse, or even a child. Persecution or betrayal has descended upon us and we are suffering the effects. At times we suffer spiritual melancholy because we do not have a healthy expectation of trials and suffering coming into our lives (Philip. 1:27-30). If that is the case, we need to remind ourselves to expect them (Matt. 10:38) and to persevere through them. This trial will end and we are not alone. Though we may feel abandoned, nothing could be farther from the truth. He is with us (Matt. 28:20)…The Dark Night of the Soul is about being stripped and becoming empty so that you can have a direct encounter with the sacred, and grief does a very similar thing. It has this very potent stripping quality. From: http://theaquilareport.com/spiritual-depression-the-dark-night-of-the-soul/
What do we need to know from this message?
Dark times of the soul and in life will come but it’s all about how you handle them that matters.
Why do we need to know this?
We need to know that even if I go through dark times I can with the help of the Lord come out the other side with a healthy soul and a blessed life.
What do we need to do from this message?
We need to expect dark times in our life and be prepared to deal with them Biblically and prayerfully. In those dark times of the soul we need to wait on God, we need understand we are not God and we need to receive and find His comfort in those dark times. We need to know that we are not alone!
Why do we need to do this?
Because if our soul is healthy then we can handle anything that comes our way in life. When our soul is whole and connected to Jesus all things are possible and in the end we will be blessed.
Closing Scripture Verse:
2 Thessalonians 3:16: “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.”
