The Dark Night of the Soul (Part 1)
Sunday,
Text
" 3 We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. 4 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5 in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6 in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 7 in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; 8 through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9 known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10 sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything." (2 Corinthians 6:3-10 NIV)
"35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. " (Romans 8:35-39 NIV)
Introduction
The life and ministry of the Apostle Paul illustrate what it was like to live in the tension between the "already" and the "not yet." He went everywhere declaring and demonstrating the reality of the Kingdom. He healed many sick and worked many miracles, yet experienced much persecution and violent mistreatment.
Paul believed strongly in kingdom authority and knew what it was to walk it out. He cast out demons, raised the dead, and healed the sick, yet he also knew the reality of spiritual conflict and the price that must be paid to advance the Kingdom of God Kingdom of God
"19 Then some Jews came from
He even went so far as to say to the Thessalonians that it is only as we maintain our perseverance and our faith that we will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God
"2 Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. 4 Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. 5 All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you." (2 Thessalonians 1:2-10 NIV)
Man of faith and absolute commitment that he was, in the midst of the spiritual victories he experienced, Paul nevertheless keenly felt the emotional strain of the struggle he was in and went through "dark nights of the soul."
When you are facing a major problem, carrying a particularly heavy burden, or going through an especially hard trial, there is something about the hours of the night that can bring extra emotional vulnerability.
In the Psalms (perhaps the most emotionally explicit passages in God's Word), we see this theme repeatedly, and the Psalms also show us the blessings that come to our lives as we turn our thoughts to the Lord in the night.
"1 For the director of music. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith. A psalm of David. O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. 2 Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am faint; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are in agony. 3 My soul is in anguish. How long, O Lord, how long? 4 Turn, O Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love. 5 No one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from the grave? 6 I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. 7 My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes." (Psalm 6:1-7 NIV)
"1 For the director of music. For Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A psalm. I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me. 2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands and my soul refused to be comforted. 3 I remembered you, O God, and I groaned; I mused, and my spirit grew faint.Selah" (Psalm 77:1-3 NIV)
"1 A prayer of David. Hear, O Lord, my righteous plea; listen to my cry. Give ear to my prayer— it does not rise from deceitful lips. 2 May my vindication come from you; may your eyes see what is right. 3 Though you probe my heart and examine me at night, though you test me, you will find nothing; I have resolved that my mouth will not sin." (Psalm 17:1-3 NIV)
""1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." (Psalm 1:1-3 NIV)
1 A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day. It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, 2 to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night," (Psalm 92:1-2 NIV)
"54 Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge. 55 In the night I remember your name, O Lord, and I will keep your law. 56 This has been my practice: I obey your precepts." (Psalm 119:54-56 NIV)
"7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. 8 I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken." (Psalm 16:7-8 NIV)
"8 By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life." (Psalm 42:8 NIV)
"1 A psalm of David. When he was in the
"1 A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple. Of David. I will exalt you, O Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. 2 O Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. 3 O Lord, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit. 4 Sing to the Lord, you saints of his; praise his holy name. 5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." (Psalm 30:1-5 NIV)
Paul's life teaches us two important lessons:
· We will experience moments of emotional turmoil as we live out the life of the Kingdom of God
· God is faithful during these moments and He will give us what we need to make it through victorious if we open our hearts to Him!
God was faithful to Paul. Four times, God spoke special "words" to Paul during the night. At least three of these times were moments of particular emotional vulnerability. All four times, the Lord spoke to him, telling him exactly what he needed to hear in order to serve God faithfully where he was and fulfill his destiny …!
God is "no respecter of persons." What he did for Paul, he will do for you! He will speak to you in your "night" – IF you will open your ears to His voice!
Let's look at these four nights together…
1. The night of frustration and apparent fruitlessness
" 6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and
As we will see, later episodes in the life of Paul clearly show that he was emotionally vulnerable. This particular text does not specify what his emotions were, nor contain any word from God specifically addressing his emotional state, but, knowing his personality and temperament, it is safe to say that he was at least emotionally frustrated, if not depleted…!
Paul was a " type 'A' personality." He made plans and followed through with them.
Verses 6-8 describe a process that took time, cost money, and appeared to be headed nowhere.
They describe what appears to be a process of "trial and error" that twice ended in what appeared to be "error" as they headed off in a certain direction at Paul's command, only to be brought up short by the Holy Spirit and prevented from reaching their destination.
This dynamic is hard on any leader and Paul was a great leader!
During this "night," God spoke a word of fresh direction.
God wants to reveal His will to us, but He does not always do it when and where and how we want Him to…!
It takes humility to follow God and lead His people!
2. The night of fear and emotional depletion
"5 When Silas and Timothy came from
On his previous missions trip, Paul had been stoned and left for dead at Lystra. At the beginning of this trip, he had gotten into such an argument with his best friend and number one source of encouragement, Barnabas, that they had parted ways. After this trip started, he had been beaten and imprisoned at
Now, at
During this "night," God spoke a promise of protection.
God did not Paul he would never die a "martyr's death!" Later, Paul would lose his head on a Roman chop block. What God promised him was that he would not die until he had finished his assignment.
In essence, God was saying, "I am with you; I am not finished with you; so no one will be able to harm you!"
If we walk with Jesus, we are immortal until our work on earth is finished…!
3. The night of controversy and self-examination
Every great leader unintentionally generates controversy. (Bible students are still arguing about whether or not Paul did the right thing by going to Jerusalem
This arrest came as the result of his own decisions as he responded to prophetic words warning him about Jerusalem
"17 From
" After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to
"7 We continued our voyage from
" 27 When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of
"35 When Paul reached the steps, the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers." (Acts 21:35 NIV)
"9 There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. "We find nothing wrong with this man," they said. "What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?" 10 The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks. 11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, "Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome."" (Acts 23:9-11 NIV)
During this "night," God spoke a word of affirmation.
Interestingly, the Lord's word to Paul does not tell us whether the apostle had done the right thing or the wrong thing by going to Jerusalem
God is big enough to redeem even our mistakes when we love Him and walk with Him…!
4. The night of extreme circumstances where all human hope is lost.
"18 We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19 On the third day, they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved. 21 After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: "Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from
The verb "to keep up one's courage" (euthymeÅ) is used only three times in the New Testament—twice here and in James 5:13 ("to be happy"). The verb has the idea of having good feelings or being in good spirits[1]
At some time or another, most everyone of us goes through storms in life where we lose hope.
· Sometimes it is because we have made good decisions (disciples on boat crossing Sea of Galilee at Christ's command).
· Sometimes it is because we have made bad decisions (Jonah on the ship to Tarsus
In Paul's case, he went through the worst storm of his life, and along with his companions, experienced much unnecessary loss because of other people's bad decisions.
Paul found himself in a literal hurricane because someone in authority over him (the centurion who was guarding him) made a very bad decision.
It is interesting, by the way, to see how this centurion reached such a bad conclusion:
- He chose the easy way (more comfortable harbor) instead of the wise way.
- He prioritized carnal leadership over godly leadership.
- He let the will of the majority overrule the wisdom of the minority.
- He listened to natural wisdom instead of spiritual wisdom.
- He gave more weight to external circumstances than to inner convictions. ("south wind blew softly")
- He valued speed over due diligence.
The same context, however, illustrates what a great spiritual leader Paul had become:
- He had increasing, God-given favor. (First a prisoner, then a counselor, then the captain.)
- His experience had brought him wisdom (cf. "perceive")
- He had a word from God.
- He had faith when others doubted.
- He knew what to do when others did not (A crisis does not make a person; it merely reveals who they really are.)
- He understood the power of his own example (took bread and ate it, encouraging the others to do the same – There are times when one dedicated believer can change the whole atmosphere of a situation simply by trusting God and making that faith visible.[2]
- The outcome of his life impacted many others (God has given me the lives of all who sail with me.)
Note, by the way, how Paul had such credibility before the centurion, pilot, and owner, that they believed him when he said an angel had spoken to him and cut away the lifeboat, then took food at his command and were emotionally impacted by his words (good spirits) after he promised that nothing would happen to him, then the centurion saved Paul's life when the ship broke apart and the soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners in order to keep them from escaping.
The Greek word translated "perceive" in Acts 27:10 means "to perceive from past experience."[3]
In this night, God spoke a word of hope and specific instruction.
"29 Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. 30 In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. 31 Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved." 32 So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it fall away. 33 Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. "For the last fourteen days," he said, "you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven't eaten anything. 34 Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head." 35 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36 They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves." (Acts 27:29-36 NIV)
Invitation
1. Are you in a "night season?" Do you need the Lord to speak a fresh word to you?
2. Do you need to receive Jesus into your heart?
Notes:
"4 My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. 5 Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. 6 I said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest— 7 I would flee far away and stay in the desert;Selah 8 I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm."" (Psalm 55:4-8 NIV)
"1 For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Of David. Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. 2 From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than
"16 The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon." (Psalm 74:16 NIV)
[1]John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983-c1985), 2:428.
[2]Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, "An Exposition of the New Testament Comprising the Entire 'BE' Series"--Jkt. (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996, c1989), Ac 27:21.
[3]Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, "An Exposition of the New Testament Comprising the Entire 'BE' Series"--Jkt. (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996, c1989), Ac 27:1.
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