The Dark Night of the Soul (continued)
“The Dark Night of the Soul” was written by John of the Cross after his imprisonment for supporting the reformation of the Roman Catholic Church in the sixteenth century. In it, John describes why God allows us to experience periods of spiritual numbness in our journeys of faith: times when our devotional and prayer practices appear to add nothing to our Christianity. Times when we feel as if the heavens are stone, and God seems nowhere to be found.
John of the Cross explains these times as God’s work in our lives as He seeks to purify our souls from those things hindering our spiritual growth. Yesterday, I shared with you one of those hindrances - pride. John calls it “secret pride.” We begin to see ourselves as supra-spiritual, even as we begin to look at others with secret contempt. I shared an example of this from my own life in yesterday’s post.
But there is another hindrance to spiritual growth in our lives as Christians: over-attachment to our feelings. Here’s how John describes what happens when our hearts get too attached to the feelings we get from our devotional lives -
We “focus on the affect and not on the substance of devotion . . . but those who are on the right path will set their eyes on God and not on . . . their inner experiences.”
This is John’s way of saying that our faith is not based on feelings or experiences; our faith is built on something much more secure. I love what Job says when his entire life comes crashing down around him. It doesn’t make sense; he can’t understand why, but in his miserable state, Job cries out, “though he slay me, yet will I trust him.” Job’s relationship with God was deeper than his feelings or experiences; Job’s relationship with God was woven into the very fabric of his soul, the very depth of his being. And neither the criticism of his “holier than thou” friends nor the insistence by his wife that he “curse God and die” would ever change that.
I’m going to continue this post tomorrow with another story from my own life to illustrate this second hindrance to spiritual growth in your life and mine. I’ve learned so much about God and His ways through my dark nights of the soul, and I want to help you through yours.
I’m still working on that Galatian’s podcast. It really is a difficult passage, and I want to give it the respect and diligence it deserves.
In Christ,
Dan
Check out my podcasts from Church on the Edge and my books on Kindle.