Dear Ones,
Hope you have a blessed day. Al will be off to Men’s group and coming home in time to preach next door. I plan to do food prep and go to my Exercise class and Craft time and later Bible Study at church.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Today I would like to share with you about the Dark Night of faith, as some of you have shared in your responses that you feel dry and not excited about church or reading the Word, as God seems more distant. The way you have known God seems shut off and you feel something is wrong with you and you are alone. It could be that God is taking you through the Dark Night and moving you on in your walk with Him, from image to reality, from possessiveness to love, from control to hope. What seems like darkness is really excessive light, much like looking into the sun. God is not going away from you, but breaking through to you more strongly than before. You are not falling apart, but becoming firm in your faith. Instead of the images you have of God’s existence and inward focus, you will find God exists independent of your feelings and helps you turn outward.

God is infinite and cannot be captured in any concept, thought, or image. When we were children, we saw pictures of Jesus blessing the children or as a shepherd with the sheep. As we mature in our faith, we move beyond images and pictures, for God is beyond images and is reality. I read an example of a mother fish in the ocean whose baby fish ask her, “Mother, what is water? Show us water!” Of course, we know they are immersed in water and yet don’t have a concept of water. So let’s say she sets up a PowerPoint projector and shows them pictures of great waterfalls, the ocean, etc., and they receive a concept of water. She tells them that they know more about water now and they can just swim in it and let it flow through them. When the Powerpoint is turned off, the little fish struggle to believe they are swimming in the water. For them it is like the dark night of faith. Likewise, our imaginations give us pictures with the Powerpoint of God, but these are simply images. Faith is moving beyond the images and ideas of God, as we come to believe what we cannot see and go deeper into God. Mother Theresa lived for fifty years in this state, though those around her were unaware as she turned outward to serve the poor.

You don’t choose when you go through the dark night, but it is wonderful to know in faith that God is doing a deep work. It may feel lonely, but remember God is breaking through and flowing into your life more strongly than ever before. God exists and the reality is not dependent on our feelings. We no longer depend on Powerpoint images, but swim in reality of His love.

Challenge for today: Trust and accept that what is happening to you is purifying your faith.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy