The Dark Night of the Soul
I've been thinking a lot about the dark night of the soul. There is a reality to that descriptor that goes understated until you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death and wrestling with the beasts of grief.
As I personally enter into a season of grief and extended loss, I can't help but think of the cycles of seasons that our climate and weather dictate to us year after year. Each year we see death, darkness, cold, new life, hope, heat, passion, abundance, testing, and drought. Each of these seasons we see replayed year after year. Though there are unpredictable elements within each season, there is an undeniable rhythm that brings comfort. Though one season may be particularly brutal, we can rely on the fact that it, too, will end and give way to the next season.
How incredible that God gives us this visual rhythm to whisper a deeper truth to our hearts in the dark night of the soul.
The loss and darkness is only a passing thing. Like midnight, this deep soul-breaking sorrow will give way to the light of the Son. And it is when we reach the darkest moment of grief that a sliver of hope appears on the horizon. Like the hint that dawn returns again, hope seeps into the hopeless spaces.
As I process loss and my very own grief, I keep on wondering, how does one survive the roaring seas that are on the verge of overwhelming? How does one survive the hurricanes of life and live to tell about life after the devastation? This is the conclusion I have come to:
When we cast ourselves on the Rock (Psalms 18:2, 22:47, 62:7, 71:3, 95:1, Isaiah 17:10, 2 Samuel 22:2-7) Christ, He binds us with his cords of love to his unmoving frame (Psalms 6:4, 31:16, 109:26). That is the only way to survive the storm (Psalms 46, 2 Samuel 22:17). Neither our knowledge, understanding, hopes, or ability can keep us from being swept away. Survival is supernatural. Otherworldly. And utterly impossible apart from God. He not only withstands the storms but commands them (Luke 8:24).
Come thou fount of every blessing,
Bind my wandering heart to thee.
Streams of mercies never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Sing me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above,
Take my heart Lord,
Take it, seal it,
Seal it for thy courts above.
(Lyrics from Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, abridged by author.)
So as my tears mingle with the raging seas, He holds me fast, protecting and covering me in his love. And though the thunder echoes my rumbling heart, he stays with me, hemming me in on all sides. He is with me. And though this particular storm terrifies me, I know he will not abandon me. Soon the wind will quiet, the waves will slow, and the rain will cease. The sun will break through the gloom, and it will be him and I.
Written by Sara Danielle Hill
Sara is a nurse, writer and founder of Undercurrents Ministries. For more more information about Sara Hill and her writing, head over to saradaniellehill.com
