“What will survive is what we can release. The brick wall feels stronger, but it will be toppled. Rather than standing strong against the tides of dark emotion and doubt, what if we let go? The surprise ending is that just maybe we will be upheld, not entirely swept away.”- Catherine McNiel
Catherine McNiel and Jason Hague continue Chapter 9 of Mid-Faith Crisis as they talk about Saint John of the Cross. He’s best known as the author of Dark Night of the Soul. Most significantly, Saint John of the Cross believed that one of the final steps along the way to union with God consisted of this. A deep faith crisis. A crisis that included:
- a sense of God’s complete absence.
- an inability to recognize God’s presence at all.
- a sense of confusion and spiritual stagnation, discouragement, and despair.
For example, marathon runners talk about ‘hitting a wall’ twenty miles or so into the race. Yet, they find the strength to go on despite the tough physical and mental battle. Therefore, the authors exhort:
“Your emotional or spiritual low points may not signify God’s absence or your failure at all; they may be part of the ups and downs of life, signs that your spirit is preparing for a time of growth and influence as the dormancy of winter readies the ground for spring.”
In conclusion, Catherine counsels, in order to be lifted up, we often need to let go. Because when the tsunami hits, the brick walls fail to survive. Instead, those who survive release and float. They surrender rather than trying to stand firm.
Hence, as Catherine’s ocean-lifeguard husband cautions, swimming with all your might against a riptide almost certainly leads to death. Thus, ironically, the life-and-death effort to survive – the very thing that kills you. Eventually, you tire of swimming against the tide. You become exhausted and succumb. But when you stop swimming and float, that allows you to paddle a short distance parallel to the shore and escape the tide.
Today’s question: What Bible verses help you in standing strong against the tides? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Free download: fruits of the Spirit?”