“When the soul is in the dark, and her own light shines not, she may do well to get a guide, and to take heed to borrowed light, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in her own heart.”- Fransis Rous (1579-1659)
The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”- Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV)
As Kyle Strobel and John Coe move on in Chapter 10 of When God Seems Distant, they offer five paths. Paths to help us move forward. Today the authors discuss the first path.
Path 1: Why have I never heard that before? First, Kyle and John point out, one finds the concepts of consolation and desolation throughout the Protestant tradition. Thus, varying terminology addresses the notion that God withdraws. In addition, phrase ‘dark night of the soul’ represents the longest lasting term.
Most significantly, the authors note, in Jeremiah 31:3 the calling of desertion involves knowing, by faith, the steadfast love of God. An invitation to draw near to the Lord and offer oneself to Him in truth. Yet, Kyle and John acknowledge, that fails to take away the difficulty of the experience.
However, Kyle and John caution:
“[The] Christian who turned to Christ for help early in life now imagines they should be beyond this kind of dependence. . . . So instead of abiding — instead of acting from God and for God — they seek to self-generate the Christian life to their demise. When this happens, because they feel the weight of the Christian life, they give themselves to it vigorously. . . .
It is out of their spiritual immaturity and fear of their condition that they push back on themselves and their own self-effort rather than drawing near to God to abide in him.”
Today’s question: To what borrowed light does your soul take heed? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Weary wilderness walk-through”