Staying in Spiritual Rhythm: The Woes of Winter (Part 3 of 5)

Thursday, December 15, 2011

“This is my prayer in the desert
And all that’s within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides

All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship” Hillsong lyrics

The phrase, “dark night of the soul” is used as a term signifying a spiritual crisis in our journey towards union with God. This phrase was first brought into light by the 16th century Roman Catholic Spanish poet, Saint John of the Cross, who wrote a poem by the same name. He also wrote a treatise that explains the meaning of the stanza. Today “dark night of the soul” is indentified as a time when all spiritual disciplines seem dry, difficult, and meaningless. We carry with us the feelings of abandonment, loneliness, and depression. Most crisis periods have temporary staying power and last for just a season’s time. But others have endured decades of the dreaded “dark night of the soul”; most notably Mother Teresa who revealed that hers lasted from 1948 to her death in 1997, with only brief interludes of relief in-between. Only shortly towards the end of her life did “the darkness leave” as revealed by Father Benedict Groeschel, a friend of hers.  

The spiritual season of winter is a glimpse of the dreaded “dark night of the soul.” The days are dark, dreary, and dry. We feel abandoned by God. It seems like He is nowhere to be found. Our spiritual walk is barren with no fruit.   We feel lost, alone, and depressed. Everything becomes meaningless as is stated in Ecclesiastes 12:8: “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Everything is meaningless!” And most of all–winter is death. A living death. Just as life seems to be disappear in the cold, gloomy days of winter in the physical world; in our spiritual season of winter we walk through the shadow of death. Where the life we once knew is a fading distant memory. It is full of fear and sorrow. We’re desperate for a ray of hope, for a new beginning, and the long wait to finally come to pass. It can last for a few days, weeks, months, or even a long stretch of years. It is like walking in a desert with no relief in sight and our only sight is a world clouded in darkness.

The physical realm in which we live here on earth annually endures a season of winter too. From the Christmas holiday until the St. Patrick’s Day celebration we are faced with the woes of winter. Sunlight seems to never come. There are few, if any signs of life from nature. Our bodies battle with the cold temperatures and our hearts often follow suit. It many ways it mirrors what the spiritual season of winter is like. Although the annually season of winter may have features of our liking, the season of darkness in our souls is a different story. No one willingly wants to endure the woes of winter. To become broken and bruised. To become intimate with darkness and death. But we all have to come face to face with it at some point in our lives.

When we think of the Psalms, we often think of songs of praise, thanksgiving, and joy. But there are also psalms of pain, grief, confusion, anger, and bitterness too. Psalms 13, 22, and 44 are written by King David and a full of a confusion and anguish with God. The psalmist who wrote Psalm 88 described the agony and grief that this season brings:

You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. Your wrath lies heavily upon me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them. I am confined and cannot escape; my eyes are dim with grief.” (Psalm 88:6-9)   

As Mark Buchanan writes: “This psalm is no cool, clinical, dispassionate, detaching listing of symptoms; it erupts, wild and raw. It’s a diary of disappointment, a soliloquy of compliant, a testimony of anguish. It’s the howl of a main in the grip of a heartache.” This psalm is a window into what the winter welcomes. What worth, if any, can possibly come of the season of winter? There are  few important spiritual activities we need to partake in to steward this season well. 

Prayer is the ongoing work on winter. Winter is a season in which the life of prayer can be poisoned completely or awakened. It’s a time of testing in our belief of who we know God is compared to what we see of God in the moment. In other words it is praying in God’s revelation of Himself in His Word compared to what we’re experiencing in our daily walk during the winter season. This is a time that our faith grows like no other. It combines the unique conditions that nurture the certainty of things hoped for and the assurance of things unseen. When we walk by faith not by sight. As wonderful and delightful as the seasons of spring and summer are, they are virtually useless for growing faith. Winter produces a deep faith that is rooted solid and strengthens our character and spiritual growth like no other.  

Another spiritual activity of winter is pruning. Jesus told His disciples that a loving, aiding relationship with Him means that there will be times of pruning. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunesso that it will be even more fruitful.” (John 15:1-2) When we’re in winter, we need to prune hard. This basically means to looking at all our commitments and activities and choose what’s really important. It puts a microscope on how we spent our time and gives us an opportunity to evaluate. Often times, we find many tangled branches of our life—the hobbies, the projects, the traveling, the television programs–that have become burdens, trivial pursuits, and diversions in growing spiritually. It is only through pruning that we’ll be able to bear much fruit in the spring.  

Winter forces us to wait. And waiting forces faith to grow. If you’re like most people, you don’t like the idea of waiting. Patience is not a trait that is often practiced in today’s society. Whether it be on the freeway, the checkout line, or for our birthday gift–we hate to wait. In winter we pray, call out, cry out to God and long for answers. Things remain unchanged or worse and we wonder: Where is God in all of this? Waiting builds faith similar to praying. It cultivates a faith to die for and live for. Waiting forces us to rely solely on God and trust in His promises. There are no other alternatives and instead of living carelessly in the control of comfort, we’re left solely dependent on our Creator. It’s not easy, it often brings pain, heartbreak, and sorrow. But winter makes us realize that the wait is worth it because He is worth it.   

Winter also provides gifts. It seems strange and improbable, but they are ours for the taking. First is the gift of gratitude.  It’s easy to be grateful when all is going well in the midst of summer where we’re walking hand in hand with God. It’s when we’re in the desert of darkness that we struggle with finding one thing–anything to be thankful for. But as time goes along, we remember. We remember how God was there, His faithfulness through thick and thin, and how His promises were fulfilled. And through these hard times, we receive the greatest gift of winter. Our longing for Heaven. We realize that we are not made for this world. Through suffering comes anticipation. Anticipation of life without pain, sorrow, and death. Knowing that one day we will be with the One who conquered the wrath of winter–Jesus Christ. 

Jesus, the Man for All Seasons, is with us always. He is familiar with the sorrows and suffering that the season of winter brings and comes closest to us in winter. If you’re currently enduring a winter where you feel like it’s your “dark night of the soul”, take hold of these truths. But most importantly take hold of the Truth Himself. Our prayer needs to be to praise Him in all seasons and all moments of our life no matter how we’re feeling. Because He is still God who is unchanging and never leaves our side. We have a reason to worship and a  reason for hope. The “dark night of the soul” is a dry and dark desert we all must travel through at certain points in our lives. No matter how many times we trip, fall, and crawl God will be there to carry us into the dawn of a new day. Where the scene begins to change, the colors begin to come, and winter becomes undone! Take heart friend, spring is on its way! 

Radiant Reflection: This week we learned about the season of winter. Answer these questions to help you apply the practices and principles we just covered:

1) Have you ever experienced what you would call a ”dark night of the soul”? A time where you felt abandoned, lonely, depressed, and broken?

2) What were some of the factors that caused it? How long did it last? How do you endure through this difficult time?

3) What are some of the ways that the physical season of winter mirrors that of what we experience spiritually? How does it differ?

4) What are some of the activities we can partake in during winter? What are the gifts that winter provides us?

5) Spend time in prayer. Thank God for his faithfulness and for always being there for you. Ask Him for strength, courage, and resolve when you are currently faced with a season of winter.

Can You Hear Me Now?: If you want a more complete picture of the spiritual season of winter–pick up a copy of the book, Spiritual Rhythm, by Mark Buchanan. If you’re currently in the season of winter talk to a close friend or mentor and tell them about what you’re currently going through. Seek counseling if you become clinically depressed. If you know someone who is enduring a hard time, encourage them and lift them up in your prayers. Follow through with the above mentioned spiritual practices. And cling closely to Christ always.

Future Features: This may have been a difficult read for you depending on where you are in your currently in your spiritually walk. If you are currently in the depths of winter, I’m sorry. I hope that this blog was encouraging and gives you hope in moving forward. Take a listen to the songs provided below, too, and may they offer comfort in these trying times. My prayers are with you. Never forget that God will never leave you or forsake you no matter how bad things get.  Next week we’ll be finishing up on this series with the seasons of the soul by looking at both Spring and Summer. Also we’ll finishing up on our case study of Toy Story in Shout Out to the Silver Screen with the final two Real of the Reel blogs in the coming week. God Bless.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Night_of_the_Soul

Mark Buchanan, Spiritual Rhythm, Zondervan. Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2010. Pages 31-33, 36, 44, 47-50, 51-55