Where's the Light Switch?

The dark night of the soul. No, I did not mean the Dark Knight of the soul; there is no Batman in this post. Spiritual depression is something R.C. Sproul wrote about, and it is essential for Christians to understand.

Like and Ocean

We have seen those who suffer great despair in their faith throughout scripture and history. David was overcome by this malady sobbing in tears; Jeremiah was the weeping prophet. Even Martin Luther was driven to the brink because of his sadness; it almost destroyed him.

Spiritual depression is not a depression brought on my everyday life but one of a crisis in faith. One can feel like they have lost their Christianity or God abandoned them. Like an ocean, our faith has ebbs and tides. There are highs and lows, and it is fluid. Often, we face doubt. In times of profound struggle with life issues, we can almost feel God has been absent in our life.

A Beating Heart

When Christ saves us, He replaces our heart of stone with a heart of flesh. We are then filled with the Holy Spirit. So, how is there room for what Dr. Sproul called the dark night of the soul? How could this darkness even compete with the light of God in our life?

A point made by Dr. Sproul is we should not confuse the Spiritual gifts of joy with our worldly concept of happiness. They are completely different. Paul wrote, “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). Paul’s words are important because we will be afflicted but not crushed. Sickness comes; even if it never leaves, the sickness will not crush us. Even if it overcomes our life, we will be in a renewed body with no sickness before Christ. We may be perplexed and confused by our dealings in the world, our leaders, and society, but we will not despair because we hold the light of life inside us. Christ, He resides in us. We will be persecuted, abandoned by others, and struck down, but Christ will never forsake us. Our Savior is with us every second of every day, and when we remain true to Him, we are never truly abandoned. Many of us suffer from anxiety and anxiousness over the future. Paul chastised the Philippians for their anxiety. He also said the cure for anxiety in your knees, pray.

There is a Way

Faith and spiritual depression will always coexist. Jesus was a man of sorrow. He became human and experienced the same emotions we experience. Christ wept with Mary and Martha at the death of Lazarus. He felt the shredding of the whip on His back, the nails piercing His hands and feet, and the abandonment on the cross. Even though we feel grief, depression, loss, and anxiety, we must never let it manifest as bitterness toward God. We can never give up on God. Even though you may not feel his hands upon you, He is carrying you through the turmoil. At the darkest time in my life, when I thought I would lose the love of my life, who lay in a hospital, I slept like an infant. I truly felt God’s love for the first time, knowing it was only a fraction of his love. God placed many things on the hearts of our friends in those three days. He also performed a miracle in her recovery, one no doctor could explain. He carried me in a time I could have easily cursed Him. Instead, I turned to Him.

We can become spiritually depressed, it happens, but God never places anything upon us that He cannot overcome.

Peace and Grace.