Tag: Night

  • Dark Night of the Soul: God’s Light A Purifying Fire

    Dark Night of the Soul: God’s Light A Purifying Fire

    A dark night of the soul is a period of intense spiritual or emotional distress, typically characterized by feelings of emptiness, despair, and a loss of meaning or purpose in life.

    REVELATION

    The Dark Night reveals all of our fundamental attachments; the purpose of the Dark Night is the very liberation of your soul.

    A dark night calls you into a true baptism.

    A dark night sears away pretense, dragging all – beliefs, motives, coping mechanisms – into hell’s white heat.

    Entering the Refiner’s Fire

    The dark night starts with desolation, a profound sense of abandonment and emptiness. All that you trust in our depend on more than Him will become your opposition, you will feel despised, you will be deserted.

    My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? -Psalm 22:1

    And there, in that crucible of flames, the essence meets its agonizing winnow:

    “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature” – Colossians 3:5

    What forms the core, what residue to ash… He’ll burn away ego and attachments that distance us from Himself…

    “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” Romans 8:13

    Here darkness holds no delicacy.

    Its firebrands flay hope from writhing flesh, strip sanity bare till only raw nerve remains. Reason fragments under pounding torture, oozing through mind’s fissures in diarrhea of doubt.

    “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:24

    In the darkness, we’re moulded by God alone. But like gold in a furnace, we don’t break—we’re transformed by the Alchemist, The great Architect – God Himself!

    Our false identity sloughs away, peeling off in scorched layers as even (the pronoun) “I” dissolves.

    Yet into this nuclear hell-mouth descends the Divine, wielding flames to burn away death’s shroud from our encrusted soul.

    Far from punishment, the dark night is a clear display of Divine love placing us into intense spiritual refinement.

    “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. John 15:2

    You find that you contain many branches, we are each branches containing many branches, and fragments of branches.

    Fallen man is in sin which equals (=) separation, hence fragmented, sinful, broken, no longer a branch but a fractured, pile of branches.

    Emerging with renewed vision

    Though form disintegrates at such intimacy with cosmic conflagration, the heart’s diamond emerges purified.

    Through suffering, we experience greater union with Christ who understands our pain. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

    Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.” -Isaiah 53:3-5

    What emerges is not the same substance.

    Spirit is born from the sacrifice of the flesh. The old is still attached, this is why St Paul States:

    “Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” -Corinthians 5:8

    When blackened flesh falls from whitened bones and darkness swallows the final scream, deep-bedded Spirit leaps forth on New Wings, reconstituted through Sacred Fire’s Cataclysm.

    Detached from the fleeting,

    “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble…” Psalm 46:1

    The dark night readies our soul to receive Divine wisdom in humility, lighting our path ahead.

    But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,which shines brighter and brighter until full day. Proverbs 4:18

    A journey of joy through darkness

    Though the dark night terrifies, its end brings relief and peace infinitely deeper than before the fall …

    Jesus said:

    “Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. ” John 16:20-22

    Freed from fear of trial by fire, we walk joyfully toward the Light which the darkness could not overcome (John 1:5).

    We see then how God strategically uses all things for good.

    The darkness isn’t a sign of His absence but preparation for an intimacy closer than ever dreamed.

    I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16.

    How can God guide you if you already know the way? God delights to guide us into new places, new paths, take us on new adventures and lead us in new ways.

    But first, He wants us to trust Him and depend on him even though we feel “blind” and “in the dark.”

    Things become clear only in the place of following Him into the unknown.

    This is the Way: through hell’s annihilating forge, past all fears, to new creation’s dawn.

    “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” – Romans 8:28

    For those called to this sacred spiritual process, take heart—the way is made straight, and dawn follows.

    “I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron . . . That you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel” –Isaiah 45: 2, 3“

    A voice of one calling in the desert:

    ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God’s salvation’ Luke 3: 5, 6

    Steadfast Faith sees us through.

    May those navigating these waters find strength, by the strength of our substitute, protected in God who doesn’t put is in the out valley without going with us into the deepest valley…

    Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4

    St. John of the Cross ORIGINAL

    https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/157984/the-dark-night-of-the-soul
  • DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL {St. John Of The Cross intro}

    DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL {St. John Of The Cross intro}

    To read the original text online I have created a weblink so you don’t have to download it. 🔗St. John Dark Night Of The Soul

    ST JOHN OF THE CROSS OVERVIEW

    St. John of the Cross was not only a Spanish mystic from the Middle Ages but also a prominent figure in the Catholic Church. He was a Carmelite friar and a close friend of St. Teresa of Avila, another mystic and reformer of the Church.

    However, his views and teachings were not always well-received by the Church authorities, and he was eventually captured and tortured for his beliefs.

    During his imprisonment, St. John of the Cross experienced a profound spiritual crisis, which he later described as the “night of the soul.” This phrase has since become interchangeable with a period of severe spiritual struggle and doubt, often characterized by a feeling of desertion by God.

    Despite his suffering, St. John of the Cross continued to write and teach, and his works profoundly influenced Christian spirituality. His most famous work, “The Dark Night of the Soul,” is a poetic and philosophical exploration of the nature of God and the human soul and has been praised for its profound insights into the mysteries of faith. Today, St. John of the Cross is recognized as one of the greatest mystics and spiritual writers in the Christian tradition. His teachings continue to inspire and challenge believers worldwide.

    “In the twilight of life, God will not judge us on our earthly possessions and human successes, but on how well we have loved.” – John of the Cross

    He coined a phrase to depict a moment when a person confronts agonizing trials that shake the core of their being.

    My Experience

    I have some firsthand experience with existence and consciousness. Nothing is more devastating than realizing what you thought you had was never really yours, leaving you at square one. It feels like death. Rebuilding is excruciating, especially with unsympathetic people around you who aren’t self-aware enough to care. During a dark night of the soul, escape and hopelessness can seem impossible.

    Don’t lose hope in the dark night. It’s not punishment, it’s just the start of something new.

    A DARK NIGHT CALLS YOU IN TO CHANGE

    “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)

    The dark night doesn’t just call for a reassessment, it forces you to question everything – who you are, what you know, and what you have. You may find that material possessions mean nothing at all.

    I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things. “Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the LORD have created it. Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’? Isaiah 45:7–9

    The dark night of the soul can be a spiritual death, leading some to resort to suicide. However, for those who endure, it can be a doorway to a freer, more self-realized existence with a stronger faith and clearer understanding of sin.

    “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber… The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep… Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. John 10:1,2,7

    To navigate the dark night of the soul, one must persist and surrender. It’s akin to being “baptized in fire” as Scripture suggests – either we are consumed or refined, with no other options. There’s no sugar-coating or avoiding this experience, and even finding the strength to try can be a challenge. The only way to move forward is to go through it, or risk being stuck in it indefinitely.

    Questions To Ask Yourself If You Are Experiencing A Dark Night Of The Soul

    What subjective beliefs do you hold about life? What entitlements do you feel? What surface beliefs and personas do you identify with that may not align with your core self? What beliefs do you fear questioning because they conflict with your support system?

    The Enigmatic Allure of a Dark Night

    The allure of a dark night beckons you to delve into the depths of life and access profound wisdom. It challenges you to tap into the Mind of God and rely solely on the Word of God, all by the Will of God. From the darkness, you have the opportunity to catch a tiny glimpse of the incredible feat that God accomplished over the face of the deep. It’s mind-boggling to fathom how God, through the Power of His Word, created something out of nothing and declared it GOOD. Even the mere prospect of a dark night can make us shed our skin and leap into the unknown.

  • Bondage Of The Will

    Bondage Of The Will

    There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

    The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

    What the Law could not do, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh & an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do NOT walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

    Those who walk according to the flesh put their minds on the things of the flesh,
    but those who walk according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

    The mind set on the flesh is death

    But the mind set on the Spirit is life & peace, 
    The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, it is not even able to do so,(man in & of himself is wicked & deprived) & those who are in the flesh cannot please God (no matter how hard they try). .

    The good news is you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God really dwells in you. But if ANYONE  does not have the Spirit of Christ, that person does not belong to Christ.

    If Christ is in you, though your body is dead because of sin, yet the Spirit is alive because of His righteousness.

    If you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if you are living by the Spirit you are laying to death the actions of the body, & you will live.

    All who are being directed by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

    You have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”

    The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, & if we are children, we are heirs also, heirs of God & fellow heirs with Christ,
    If  we suffer with Him we may also be glorified with Him.

    The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

    The anxious longing of His entire creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.

    For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

    For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.

    And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.

    For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?

    But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

    Romans 8:1‭-‬25 Directly quoted.

  • Cool Dusk