Soul Care 105 Series

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.