The Night Season

I want to spend one more post on SOS 3:1, “All night long... I looked for the one my heart loves…”

At some point in our lives we will all experience the night season.  We need to have our hearts prepared in advance to be able to come through it with victory.  If we are not filled up with Truth from God’s Word and are not encountering His Presence in the secret place, the night season will offend us and cause our hearts to grow cold, dull and bitter.

I have recently come out of a night season that lasted several years.  It was a period of wrestling with the Lord Himself, yet trusting His Nature and Character even though nothing was “working” in my circumstances.  I had to declare GOD IS PROVIDER even when provision wasn’t manifesting in my life.  I did not change my decision about who God is because I wasn’t experiencing it for that time.  God is still provider, even though I’m not seeing it manifest in my life. I cannot limit God to my personal experience.

I want to take a little time to talk about several types of the “night season”, these inconvenient hours:

1. Night time of pain (trials):  In difficult circumstances, as when David ran from Saul and Joseph was in the dungeon; they did not give up by concluding God’s promises were false.
2. Night time of temptation (struggles): In times of failure and darkness we must continue to seek God~ running to Him, not away from Him (or hiding yourself from Him).
3. Night time hours (middle of the night): We sometimes seek God in the night hours because of our godly desperation to know Him through the inconvenience of these hours, where the soul can be still and quiet before Him.
4. Dark Night of the Soul: In the Middle Ages, some spoke of the dark night of the soul (St. John of the Cross gave it this title), indicating that God’s presence is sometimes temporarily withdrawn even in times of obedience to produce a stronger YES in the heart.   

Many teach on the night seasons of trials and temptations.  I  want to give a little attention to the dark night of the soul, and share a few things the Lord spoke to me during this season.

The dark night of the soul is a season of utter crushing in which we are called to step out of ourselves, away from fleshly desires and appetites, embracing a closer communion with God. It is a lonely season but it is a holy invitation from the Lord to go deeper with Him, to allow Him to empty you out and fill you with Himself.

If you have been in this season, the word “crushing” is exactly what it feels like.  {To Crush:  press/squeeze with a force that destroys or deforms; to force out by pressing.}

God will actually woo us to this place of holy darkness. How will we respond?

I learned much during my “dark night of the soul” season. But in order to have victory, I was strengthened by what I had fed my soul and spirit with over the years leading up to this period of time.I had to dig into the well of my soul. What do you give you time and attention and affection to? What is the well of your soul filled up with?

There were two cries of my heart during this season. These were daily confessions (literally every day these were how I started my day):
1) “I say YES to You Jesus, even though I don’t understand. To who else would I go. You have the words of life!”

• This is the same cry that Peter and the disciples had when Jesus spoke a challenging word to the masses.  “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. ‘You do not want to leave too, do you?’ Jesus asked the twelve. Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,’” John 6:66-68. 

2) “I will not be offended by You Jesus. I don’t understand, but I trust You in my life.”

• John the Baptist had been imprisoned. Life was not turning out the way he had envisioned.  He had prepared the way for Jesus (his cousin).  The angel’s words spoken about John the Baptist’s life were a gift to Zechariah (John’s father) & Elizabeth (John’s mom). “The angel said to him (Zechariah), ’Do not be afraid Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord….he will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God…” Luke 1:14-16.  Surely prison was not the way John’s life would end.  John was discouraged and sent his disciples to Jesus.  Jesus sends a message back to John, “Blessed is the one who is not offended by Me.” (Matthew 11:2-6). 
  

We all have to make a decision to not be offended by Jesus.  I still have many questions about this season in my life. I know the Lord increased my love for Him; my trust in Him; my confidence in my relationship with Him. He formed in me more of His love, His life, His Spirit, His Word. I am not the same person I was 4 years ago. There are scars in my heart, but I have come through. And I’ve been moved into deeper intimacy with Jesus and really that's the goal. There are things I learned in the night season that I couldn’t learn in any other way. So I stand today grateful for this invitation to holy darkness.

If you find yourself in this night season, ask the Lord to awaken you to greater revelation. Thank HIm for the privilege to enter the dark night of the soul. Do not give up or give in. Let the pain of this season cause your heart to RISE UP and LOOK FOR JESUS!
 

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