Chapter 3 The Dark Night of the Soul

What the Mystics Knew John of the Cross, the 16th century Spanish mystic and theologian, described a specific season of spiritual experience he called the "dark night of the soul" — a period in which God withdraws the felt consolations of His presence so that the soul can mature beyond its dependence on experience and into naked, trusting faith. This is not the same as depression, though the two can coexist and are often confused. The dark night is primarily a spiritual phenomenon — the felt absence of God, the dryness of prayer, the loss of spiritual delight — in the context of a continuing commitment to God. What makes the dark night uniquely painful is that the person experiencing it often cannot explain what is happening. They are still doing all the right things — praying, reading, serving, confessing — and feeling nothing in return. The silence of God in this season is not punishment. It is formation. "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me." — Psalm 23:4 Navigating the Dark Night If you are in the dark night rather than (or in addition to) clinical depression, the response is different. Here, the call is not primarily to get professional help — though that may still be wise. The call is to stay. To keep praying even when it feels hollow. To keep reading even when the page is dry. To trust that the darkness is purposeful, even when you cannot see the purpose. The dark night is not abandonment. It is a different form of presence — one that requires a more mature faith to perceive. And those who have walked through it and come out on the other side consistently report that what they found in the dark was more real and more substantial than the felt comfort they had before it. This is not a comfort that makes the dark easier. It is a hope that makes it survivable. The dark night is not God's absence. It is His presence in a form your spiritual senses cannot yet register. Stay. Keep walking. He is there.