TITLE: THE DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL
TEXT: 2 Cor. 4:7-10 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.”
I. WHAT IS THE DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL?
The phrase “dark night of the soul” comes from a poem by St. John of the Cross (1542-1591), a Spanish Carmelite monk. 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. “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
St. John of the Cross taught that one seeking God will cast off all attachments to this world and live a life of austerity. Before attaining union with God, however, the soul must pass through a personal experience of Christ’s passion. This time of testing and agony is accompanied by confusion, fear, and uncertainty—including doubts of God—but on the other side are Christ’s glory, serenity, and a mystical union with God.
1. The dark night is not pleasant. To the end that it allows one to approach nearer to God and His love, the poet calls it a “happy night” and a “night more lovely than the dawn.” At the end of one’s journey, he concludes, God takes away all feeling, leaving the traveler senseless to everything except the presence of God Himself.
THE DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL CAN BE COMPARED TO EAGLES WHEN THEY MOLT.
The powerful eagle's survival is linked to its plumage, as its feathers function to insulate, protect, transport, and identify it. Feathers may become worn out, frayed, or weakened by a buildup of oil and dirt. With a wingspan of up to 8 feet, plumage should be light for soaring, and strong and tight to insulate eagles from the cold and wet. The bald eagle has several layers of feathers, each serving a different function. Under the outer layer of feathers is an inner layer of downy ones. God's design of the feather's interlocking nature is amazing!
Thus, often in their lifespan of thirty or so years, beginning about age four to five, they molt. They will not lose all of their plumage in a given molt, usually about one-half to two-thirds of all feathers, (starting from the head down, and in patches) but the process of shedding and regrowth in any given cycle may take months.
Eagles may descend for a molt, usually to a safe refuge in a hidden low place on the forest floor, or in the cleft of a rock, or crevice. Some cycles of the molt renders an eagle very weak. Most cannot fly or hunt because they may lose vital primary and secondary feathers and because it takes a great deal of energy and body resources to grow feathers. This is the time when eagles are in greatest danger, for since they use their energy stores their fat for feather growth, they are less able to fight disease or stress. In their weakened state, they are also in danger from predators and the elements. Interestingly, some experts report that eagles lose their ability to tear, which diminishes their sharp vision. It is also said that calcium accumulates on their beaks, further hindering their survival.
2. This phenomenon describes a malady that the greatest of Christians have suffered from time to time. It was the malady that provoked David to soak his pillow with tears. It was the malady that earned for Jeremiah the title, "The Weeping Prophet." It was the malady that so afflicted Martin Luther that his melancholy threatened to destroy him.
3. This is no ordinary fit of depression, 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. IT IS NOT CAUSED BY ANYTHING WE HAVE DONE, BUT IT IS GOD’S PLAN FOR THE PERSON SUFFERING.
II. WHY THE DARK NIGHT?
1. Because God loves us too much to leave us alone. Leighton Ford said,” God loves us the way we are, but too much to leave us that way.
2. When the lights go out, and we’re forced to wait in the dark, two things tend to happen:
1.) We tend to appreciate the light we beforehand took for granted, and 2.) We search for light. Otherwise, we don’t appreciate how great it is to have lights.
3. Suffering often will get our attention. Suffering holds a message of comfort. In 2 Cor. 1:3-4 says, “ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
Because tragedy happened to you, it gives you a greater sense of oneness with others who experience tragedy. You can feel for them in that suffering situation. Because we have been comforted through the Word of God, we in turn may be able to comfort others.
“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 reason will be suffering.”
A. What Should Our Attitude Be About Suffering?
First, it should be one of worship. We ought to say, “O God, I believe You are the great and mighty God. I don’t understand all the things that are happening in my life, but, O God, I trust in You.” Too often we do the opposite…we pout and sulk, and get mad at God.
Second, we should ask God to teach us all He would have us learn about Him, about ourselves, about others and how we can minister to those who are suffering.
Third, our attitude in suffering should glorify God. People are going to watch us as Christians. They will ask, “How is it that Christ is so in control of his or her life that he or she was able to help others?”
B. What is True About Suffering?
1. In suffering there is also a message of compassion. Jesus said, “for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me” (Matthew 25:35-36).
2. Suffering holds a message of comfort. (2 Cor.1:3-4) “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
III. THE DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL ALWAYS GIVES WAY TO THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE NOONDAY LIGHT OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD.
1. God Has a Plan for Us Through the Dark Night
Paul reminds the church that the treasure we have from God is a treasure that is contained not in vessels of gold and silver but in what the apostle calls “jars of clay.” For this reason he says, “that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” Immediately after this reminder, the apostle adds, “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).
2. Vision Will Be Restored
At some stage of the molting process, the older, more mature eagles (who have experienced molting before) drop meat to replenish the molting eagle's energy, because its oily fat stores are used to stimulate the growth of new feathers. Eventually the eagle gains enough strength to fly to a mountain or a high place and to beat or scrape its beak against a rock to break off the calcium. With renewed strength, the eagle soars against the wind to stimulate the flow of tears, and with vision restored; it flies higher and faster than ever. Some don't make it through to the end of the molt; others don't endure through the regrowth. However, those that do bear the process of transformation, rise again, stronger than ever before, their youth renewed, and they soar into higher realms than before.
There's an interesting reference to this process in Micah 1:16: "Make yourself bald and cut off your hair, because of your precious children; enlarge your baldness like an eagle, for they shall go from you into captivity." In those days, cutting off the hair was a sign of great distress, for instance, upon the death of a loved one. The suffering ended when the hair grew back. "Enlarging your baldness" referred to the rising of the eagle after casting its feathers and breeding new ones
APPLICATION: Jesus suffered and died for us on the cross, but God raised Him from the dead. Jesus Christ now sits at the right hand of God the Father, and He sees our suffering. He sees our life every day and knows exactly where we stand.
The Bible teaches that we are to be patient in suffering. That’s the hardest thing of all, to be patient, to have songs in the night. Ask God to help you have a trusting, patient attitude, and flee from bitterness. Someone wrote, “You can’t run in the darkness.”
Let’s close with David’s prayer in Psalm 13:1-6,” How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? 3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, 4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken. 5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. 6 I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.”
