Even Jesus, as fully man, had a "Dark Night of the Soul." One was in the garden of Gethsemane. He was in complete agony to the point of sweating blood. He then asked Father God if there was another way to save mankind instead of His death on the cross. Then He stated, "Your Will be Done, Not Mine."
"Then Jesus went with the disciples to a place called Gethsemane. He said to them, “Stay here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons with him. He was beginning to feel deep anguish. Then he said to them, “My anguish is so great that I feel as if I’m dying. Wait here and stay awake with me.” After walking a little farther, he quickly bowed with his face to the ground and prayed, “Father, if it’s possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. But let your will be done rather than mine” (Matthew 26:36-39).
It's very important to note that Jesus acknowledged His pain, took it to God His Father, and then surrendered His will as a man to God's will. This is exactly how we deal with the "Dark Nights of the Soul." One, acknowledge the pain beneath the darkness, two, take it to Jesus, and three, surrender to the will of God.
Everyone Experiences the Dark Nights of the Soul
The book “A Grief Observed” by C.S. Lewis, one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one the most influential Christian writers and apologist of his day, was first published under the pseudonym of N.W. Clerk.
In its stark honesty and unadorned simplicity, it has a rare power to expose one's beliefs and motives. It is the power of unabashed truth amid a “Dark Night of the Soul,” not just the pain of His wife’s death but the realization that there was nothing he could do to stop it. It reveals that there are times when there is nothing we can do, and we are at the mercy of God. If we are honest this is a dark and vulnerable place to be.
How Will God Respond?
Lewis became a broken man emotionally naked in his faith walk. He questions where God is during his pain and grief. He recounts the agony and the emptiness of grief beyond anything he had ever experienced. The love of his wife came in his later years and was cut short. His great love brought about enormous grief. His strong intellectual faith faltered, much like the lamenting in Psalms.
“I am reckoned among those who go down to the pit; I have become like a man without strength, forsaken among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You remember no more, and they are cut off from Your hand. You have put me in the lowest pit, in dark places, in the depths. Your wrath has rested upon me” (Psalm 88:4-7a).
Where Is God?
In this way, Satan relentlessly tormented him, just as he does with all Christians. The Devil and his demons lie, tempt, and harass all believers, most often, in their greatest pain and suffering to question God's character. In this state of emotional and spiritual turmoil, he wrote the following:
“Meanwhile, where is God? This is one of the most disquieting symptoms (of the dark night). When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense of needing Him, so happy that you are tempted to feel His claims upon you as an interruption, if you remember yourself and turn to Him with gratitude and praise, you will be—or so it feels—welcomed with open arms. But go to Him when your need is desperate when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence. You may as well turn away. The longer you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become. There are no lights in the windows. It might be an empty house. Was it ever inhabited? It seemed so once. And that seeming was as strong as this. What can this mean? Why is He so present a commander in our time of prosperity and so very absent a help in time of trouble? Not that I am (I think) in much danger of ceasing to believe in God. The real danger is coming to believe such dreadful things about Him. The conclusion I dread is not ‘So there’s not God after all,’ but ‘So, this is what God’s really like. Deceive yourself no longer.’”
Is it any wonder that he didn’t put his name behind these words of raw, unfettered pain? I wonder if the institutional church of the Western world can handle allowing the members of its congregations to experience the “dark nights” and face their pain and trauma. I don't mean "I'll pray for you" or "a quick fix Bible verse." I mean actually allowing you to wrestle with God in your pain and suffering. This is what "The Dark Night of the Soul" part one examines. It would be helpful to read it now and then continue.
Is the Church Ready?
Sometimes, my wife Janean and I feel the same way in our ministry of intimacy with God and intimacy with our spouses. We sometimes laughingly say, “We are too sexual for the church, too spiritual for the counseling community, and too Christian for the world!” To us, this is a tragedy. What we have found is that intimacy or experiencing healing in God’s presence and dialogue on sexual intimacy, as defined by the Trinity, are missing in the church.
When the church creates or allows this empty space the enemy has an opportunity, and he takes advantage of it, to destroy the very thing God created and His people. Thus, the pornography industry and the myriads of sexual addictions by God-professing men. The Barna Research Group states that 70% of Christian men struggle or have struggled with internet pornography. The enemy has also infiltrated the intimacy between a married man and woman. The divorce rate in Christian marriages is hovering around 50%.
When we acknowledge our pain and sin and run to God, He offers to heal in His Presence and Word. This hope comes in the form of renewal, transformation, or direct healing. It is called progressive sanctification.
The Sorrow of Peter
Look at Jesus’ disciple Peter. He felt the “Dark Night of the Soul” when he betrayed Jesus. In his hopelessness and despair, he ran away from God and went back to his old life of fishing. He was sure that he could never be redeemed, forgiven, and used by God. However, Simon Peter, after he denied Jesus and subsequent restoration, his faith and belief in Jesus was redirected outward, assuming leadership in the early Jewish-Christian church.
Dr. Bruce Demarest, in his book Seasons of the Soul—Stages of Spiritual Development states “The risen Christ brought Simon Peter deep, inner healing and integration in his spiritual reorientation. Formerly strong-willed and opinionated, Peter developed integrity in his inward self. Formerly impulsive, he became self-controlled. Formerly unstable, Peter was made strong and steady. Formerly captivated by religious phenomena, Peter was grateful for, but not fixed on powerful spiritual experiences. Formerly fearful of others’ power over him, Peter now had confident strength ruling his heart. No longer ashamed of Christ, reoriented Peter boldly and courageously testified to the Savior, confessing him Lord of all."
As an Apostle of Christ Jesus Peter would go on to write:
"But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15).
Judas is an example of a sorrow that leads to death. His “Dark Night,” the betrayal of Jesus, turned into selfish sorrow and death because he failed to believe in God’s sufficiency and sovereign will.
As with Peter, many of my “Dark Nights” have been redeemed by Christ. Jesus always shows up for me by redeeming my failures and brokenness. He has kept His promise to be faithful even when I am floundering in darkness and pain.
Biblical Examples
More examples of the “Dark Night of the Soul” in Scripture where it seems that God is not listening or present:
“I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer . . . When I hoped for good, evil came when I looked for light, then came darkness” (Job 30:17, 20, 26).
“But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals; you covered us with deep darkness” (Psalm 44:19).
“You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths . . . Why, Lord, do you reject me and hide your face from me? … You have taken from me friend and neighbor—darkness is my closest friend” (Psalm 88:6, 14, 18).
“He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than lights; . . . He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead” (Lamentation 3:2, 6).
During the healing process, we must in our brokenness be willing to observe or deal with the “Dark Nights” or “pain” that we encounter and see them as a valuable resource that God uses in the process of sanctification. It is the truth that sets us free no matter how painful it may be! (John 8:31, 32)
Many times, God will allow crisis as a means of healing, restoration, and redemption. God doesn’t want us to control and manage our circumstances so that we are never disrupted or feel pain. What He is calling us to is to live life fully, embracing every moment and circumstance, and when we are disrupted or feel pain, we are simply asked to bring it to the throne of grace.
"Since then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16).
There is a light at the end of every “Dark Night,” and it is intimacy with Jesus. Therefore, His very presence ushers in healing and restoration. This inner healing or knowing our true self or identity in Christ shatters patterns of behavior, addictive ruts in our brain, the enemies' lies that we accept as truths, our own vows and broken cisterns that help us to live out of our own strength and brings us back to God’s true reality.
That Jesus and Jesus alone is our help in time of need. It is this holistic rejuvenation from sin to complete forgiveness, and spiritual death to eternal spiritual life that brings all Christians out of the “Dark Nights of the Soul” into the bright light of Jesus’ finished work on the cross and resurrection.
“For you who revere my name, the son of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays” (Malachi 4:2).
Too Broken to Experience God's Love
“We love because He (God) first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
What wells up in your heart as a response to the above scripture? As a Christian, you have experienced His love and forgiveness, and the Lord now asks you to respond to His love and mercy by loving and being merciful to others. You are not only requested to believe that He loves you and is gracious towards you, but He invites you to live it. He desires to empower you to love yourself and others every moment you are alive. It means relating to others, living in a community, putting others before yourself, and being intimate with God. Simply put, the grace He extravagantly pours out on you would naturally result in your showing extravagant grace to others.
My Personal Story
I (Bill) will use my personal story as an example. Due to the abuse in my family of origin (sexual/verbal from my mom, neglect/abandonment from my dad, and sexual abuse), I felt used and rejected every day which turned into hopelessness, depression, anger and self-loathing. This led to addictions as a cover and relief for my pain. I thought it was good to be alone and isolated because no one else could hurt or abuse me. I made a vow to be safe and not get too close to anyone, even God.
However, loneliness and rejection take its toll on a little boy’s and eventually a man’s heart, it becomes unbearable. The lingering anguish of past abuse felt like hell. When in hell, do as Satan does; accuse, yell, curse, defend, blame, and sin against God and others; pain turns to fear, fear turns to anxiety, anxiety turns to anger, and anger turns to self-condemnation. How could I stop this unspeakable ugliness, profound and severe agony, and mental torment?
The kind that causes uncontrollable hopelessness and despair, a truly “Dark Night of my Soul” where it feels like God has abandoned me (read Psalm 88 a lamenting prayer). It was a dark place not only because of the pain or despair but because all my coping strategies did not work any longer, and only God could save me. In my helplessness and brokenness, God called me to become entirely dependent on His grace (love and mercy).
I Can't Help Myself, Boy Have I Tried!
Redemption was utterly impossible in my strength. It seems that when I am in hell or performing for God, I am void of His presence. In this state, I was capable of any form of sin and offense against myself and others! I was once again a slave to my flesh (carnal desires). I was once again walking as the “old sinner man.” It was as if Jesus never saved, redeemed, or reconciled me to the Father. Where were God’s love and intervention now? Why didn’t He pull me out of the miry clay, and this hopeless dungeon of gloom?
Where was my God of Grace? Where was the power to change? Why was I, not the man God re-created me to be—a saint in Christ? Where was the hope and faith that once restored me? I seemed to be always tormented by demons, as was Martin Luther, struggling to embrace the Father’s unconditional love, mercy, and faithfulness. In this Dark
Night, I could not go back under the law with its bondage to works and performance. What was still in me that resisted the flow of God’s love, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the redemptive grace of Jesus? My problem was shame which leads to self-loathing, and the answer was God and His promises of unconditional love, healing, peace, and rest.
Pain Blocks Intimacy and Trust
However, what if you cannot or will not because of your pain? What if the pain in your life is resulting from abuses (sexual, physical, emotional, spiritual, verbal, neglect, abandonment), traumas, failures, weaknesses, and sin that have damaged you to the point that you do not trust God to run to Him for healing and restoration. Does the old man (your flesh reactions) seem to be too powerful whereas the new man (Spirit responses) is not motivated to run into the arms of God’s grace?
Grace appears to be just a fantasy or a dream too good to be true. Thus, the myriad of best-selling Christian books with strategies and formulas to show you how to manage your sin, pain, and fear and then, subtly, try to control your sanctification. I read them for the first thirteen years of my Christian life as a full-blown legalist. In the dark times, I still find it frustrating that I cannot be truly intimate with the Holy Trinity and live entirely free in His grace.
Shame and Penance Distort God's Image
There are two things that the enemy uses against God's children to distort the image and character of God. The first is shame and the second is penance. So, the question is "Why is it important to allow God to remove the shame and penance in our lives?" Because shame says that God made a mistake and created you bad. Penance says that Jesus is not sufficient to save us from sin and death and you have to earn it by performance or some right attitude. Obviously, they are two lies from the Devil, but not obvious when you are in pain.
I take a Theological view (Trichotomist) that the human being is made up of body, soul, and spirit. It is our spirit man or woman that was created to be dominant over the body and soul. It is this spirit person that is united or connected to God or “being one spirit with God.” The most significant hindrance to this is shame and penance. The problem with shame is that it becomes the dominant force in a person’s life and penance becomes a coping mechanism. But first, let’s look at the triune nature of our soul.
Our soul consists of 3 parts: mind, will, and heart. The mind is the intellectual or cognitive part of a human being. The will is our volitional being exercising choices that determine how you respond or react to life circumstances, pain, and even to God’s promptings. The heart is the core of our emotional being, and this is where we feel shame.
It is in the heart where we reflect our interior world which has the power to motivate and control us and where shame can become the dominant motivator and belief system. But the heart is meant to be our sacred center where God loves, guides, comforts, and strengthens every believer in Christ. It is why God gives us a new heart when we accept Jesus. Therefore, our journey out of shame begins with a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus.
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame” (Romans 10:8-11).
But first, we must understand what shame is!
Understand Shame and the Penance Cycle
Guilt is a natural reaction for anyone who has sinned, been in pain, traumatized, or abused. But shame takes it one step further and says that God created us bad. In my case, it was easier for me to believe I was bad or defective than to believe my parents or grandfather didn’t love me or worse they were evil. I thought in my damaged heart, “I can fix myself by trying harder or doing better, then maybe they will love me,” and this is what leads to penance. Other words for penance are self-punishment, self-atonement, contrition, a forfeit, making amends, and reparation which are all attempts to right a wrong or sin apart from Jesus.
A typical dictionary definition of penance would be an act of self-mortification, self-punishment, self-abasement, or devotion performed voluntarily to show sorrow for a sin or other wrongdoing. It is trying to right a wrong, a feeling of rejection, and shame by trying harder or performing at a higher level to be loved, accepted, or valued. The penance cycle to remove shame is insidious because it opens the door to demonic enemy attacks. A typical penance cycle would look something like the following.
Typical Penance Cycle
One, sin, being abused, traumatized, violated, or rejected brings on feelings of guilt and a pricked conscious and then turns to shame. |
Two, we believe that trying harder, being good, or performing for others will motivate others to love and accept us or make us look and feel better about ourselves. |
Three, when it doesn’t, we beat ourselves up through self-hatred or condemnation as a means of motivating ourselves to do better. |
Fourth, by not taking our shame to God (Matt 11:28-30) the door is opened to demonic attacks in the form of lies about self, others, and God. |
Five, this leads us back to shame, but now it is fueled and stimulated not only by the original circumstances and emotions but by demonic influences as well. |
At the core of every penance, cycle is the belief that Jesus is not sufficient and there is something we must do to get relief and cover our pain apart from Him. Without God’s intervention, this cycle never ends, and Satan develops a “stronghold or fortress” based on these lies.
The penance cycle brought about by shame led me to develop defense mechanisms or broken cisterns that I used to cope, deny the abuse, dissociate or check out, blame myself, or absorb the abuser’s guilt and shame. The enemy takes advantage of abuse victims and innocent children by enticing a child or victim to meet their needs apart from God and in destructive ways. Often emotional starvation makes children of abuse more susceptible to listening to the enemy's lies and making agreements and vows with him leading to isolation. Only Christ can restore and redeem the deep-seated shame of depravity that originated in the Garden of Eden and the shame of being abused. Shame more than any other emotion is a spiritual issue and is referred to more than 273 times in the Scriptures.
God is the Agent of Change
We found in our Christian ministry, “New Covenant GraceLife Ministries,” that we had to decide on who would be the agent of change during the healing process/journey. Would we emphasize our abilities and training and help those whom God put in our care to process and grow through self-awareness and finding the correct answers that reflect cognitive behavioral therapies (the majority of all counseling) in which the counselor or understanding is the agent of change?
The alternative is to believe that all healing comes from God and ultimately, He’s the only agent of change. We see that any form of Christian counseling, spiritual formation, and Soul Care revolves around God transforming the heart and mind allowing true change, restoration, transformation, and healing to take place.
Brokenness is God’s Essential Requirement for Healing
In our Christian Formation and Healing Ministry, we won’t take on a client unless they are broken. Why, because our acknowledgment of pain, trauma, and the "Dark Night of the Soul" leads to brokenness (a relinquishment of human effort) which is an essential element of the healing process. Therefore, one of our core beliefs is God Heals and that He alone is the agent of change in transforming the heart into the image of Christ, renewing the mind into the mind of Christ, and conforming the will into the will of Christ. He heals us emotionally, spiritually, and physically changes brain chemistry, and renews the mind. The foundation of our healing ministry is Jesus’ proclamation of His earthly ministry,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel (good news, Message) to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives (pardon to prisoners, Message), and recovery of sight to the blind (heal the brokenhearted NKJV), To set free those who are oppressed (burdened and battered, Message), To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18, NASB).
A primary assumption of ours is people are capable of being healed by God and living in freedom, strength, joy, and intimacy with the Holy Trinity. We believe that God offers to heal those who are in pain, emotional anguish, and mental torment from the enemy associated with coping strategies and are stuck in playing the “Dark Night” tapes in their heads repeatedly or have disassociated to take away the pain and shame. The following story will illustrate the importance of brokenness.
Chad and Elizabeth came to us because he could not be present physically or emotionally with his wife, and she only gave him her body but not her soul and spirit. It was the dutiful thing to do as a Christian wife she would say. It made her feel holy and righteous not to withhold from her husband, even though, she got nothing out of it and they both felt empty. His problem stemmed from abandonment and abuse from his father and a long string of abusive stepmoms. He made a vow that he would never let a woman lead him. She was raped at 15 which split up her best friend’s family. For the past thirty-five years, she blamed herself and never acknowledged the incident as rape. This lie created her tremendous guilt and shame concerning her sexuality and intimacy.
On the surface, they wanted it fixed without allowing God to expose and heal these core issues. There was a deeper core issue that involved God’s character. How could God allow these horrible things to happen to them? The answer was to deny the pain and protect God’s image. They became religious legalists and did not rely on the finished work of the cross and the power of Jesus’ resurrection to heal them. They denied their past and the pain it caused and worked hard for God believing that if they performed and kept all the rules God would have to love and accept them. They believed in God but did not trust Him with their pain and restoration.
They found that it was in their brokenness that God rushed in like the morning sun and healed them. Acknowledgment of the truth and brokenness are the first requirements for God's transformation of our sexuality and spirituality. The “Intimacy Prayer” was the beginning of their journey and helped them connect with God’s life-giving presence and move them from their brokenness to God's path of healing transformation and a new journey into the abundant life of freedom and their marriage became a garden of delight.
God Always Shows Up, but Sometimes We Don’t
But what keeps Christians from acknowledging their sin and brokenness and what is our experience that prevents people from this transformation and healing that God offers to all His children?
First, we have observed that some say they want to heal but never follow through because they feel the cost is too high for them to face whatever the enemy is harassing/tormenting them with. Or they begin and stop in one or two sessions. They are not willing to face their pain and suffering. When traumas and abuses occur in our lives, and addictions become unmanageable, the enemy attempts to capitalize on our innocence, vulnerability, and sin by offering deals or bargains, like his style of tempting Jesus in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11).
In our moments of trauma, sin, fear, pain, or anger the enemy offers coping strategies, and he makes false promises to us. Our hearts can be deceived, and we believe lies and make vows or even formal agreements with him that end up supporting negative symptoms in our lives and lead to strongholds or fortresses. Every person is susceptible to being tempted, especially when faced with abusive or traumatic events in their lives.
So, unfortunately, these people never even begin counseling or run away when the Lord gets too close to the pain, or the enemy reminds them of their unresolved fears. They continue to believe the lies of the enemy and remain in conflict, suffering, and pain broken and damaged saints.
Do You Want to Be Healed?
One thing that surprises us in scripture is Jesus asking people if they want to be healed as is the case with Bartimaeus the blind man (Luke: 18:35-43). It’s an intriguing question for sure! Why would He ask that of a person who has been blind/crippled/suffering or abused and is seeking to get well? We have found that there is a cost involved in getting well and something will be required of the person to walk in wholeness.
The first thing is, are we willing to face the core issues that have caused so much pain and fear in our lives? The beautiful thing about the Lord’s question is that He never asks a person to implement changes without Him. He promises to walk right beside them in pain, and He always offers a better way: Himself! Jesus is not a codependent in any way. He initiates the healing, but He does require us to respond to what He is doing. The appropriate response would be, Lord, I trust you to heal me and walk with me in my brokenness no matter how I feel, I will respond by faith to Your invitation.
Through Jesus all your sins are completely forgiven, past-present-future; God is the lover of your soul, and His grace is sufficient; and believe it or not the Trinity delights in you! When you move from shame that leads to the penance cycle to God’s grace in the sufficiency of Christ you are moving into a position where healing of your brokenness is not only possible but God’s desire.
Living Waters
Maybe you’re like me, and you’ve never found yourself in a desert thirsty – near to death-thirsty. Probably the most essential and valuable commodity in arid lands or desert communities is water—life-giving water. Imagine with me a movie you may have seen depicting people lost in a desert desperately searching for water. It’s as though their very life is being sucked out of them as they stagger along; one agonizing step after another. Do they even entertain the thought that they could dig a well or build a cistern to hold water? No, of course not! They would die trying! When they finally find the waterhole, they’ve been searching for, do they casually saunter up and look for a clean glass to drink out of or think about whether or not they’re worthy to drink the water? Nope, they deliriously crawl and fall in, clothing and all: gulping, drinking, splashing, and bathing; happy and joyous, and so very glad to be alive!
God is offering us the very same thing to sustain our lives: the living water Himself! He wants us to enjoy Him with even more passion than we pursue or avoid intimacy and pain by jumping in with our whole beings – joyfully gulping, splashing, and bathing in His refreshing presence. It is what it means to drink from the living waters according to the prophet Isaiah,
“The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden like a spring whose waters never fail (Isaiah 58:11).
It is the answer to glorifying the Lord and each other with our masculine and feminine souls, trusting and being utterly dependent on God as our life source.
Therefore, when we acknowledge our "Dark Nights of the Soul" we either run toward the “Fountain of Living Waters” or we run to our “broken cisterns” of depending on ourselves—trying to figure out a new way to handle it and implementing our strategies to solve our problems—penance. Peter ran to the living waters (producing life in Christ) and Judas ran to his broken cisterns (producing death). We allow fear to take over our “darkest time of shame,” but we know that God’s perfect love casts out all fear. We were never meant to carry our shame alone, we need Jesus, and He offers more than we could ever imagine.
We now know that the fountain of living water is Jesus and the abundant life flows in and out of us through the Holy Spirit. Jesus did a radical thing when He intentionally passed by Samaria and encountered the woman at the well in the gospel of John, chapter 4. He told her the water He would give her would be an artesian spring flowing from within her and she would receive fountains of endless life. He continued by saying to her that when she drinks His water, she will never thirst again. Then He lovingly declares His divinity by exposing her sexual sin. He tells her that the kind of person the Father is looking for are those who are simply and honestly themselves before Him in their worship. He tells her that she must worship Him out of her very being, in adoration from her spirit made alive through Him. He is offering us the very same living water to sustain and heal our lives from a life of shame and penance!
The offer of living waters is the same now as it was in ancient Israel, during Christ’s earthly ministry, and in 1st Century Christendom when Jesus proclaimed,
“Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:37-39, NASB).
Therefore, drinking from the “living waters of Jesus” releases this life-giving water which is the Holy Spirit from the believer's innermost being (within them NIV, out of their heart ESV, out of their belly KJV). It is the only thing that heals Dark Nights and the shame it produces!
Further Lifegiving Studies
If you want to go Deeper, we have an online COURSE called. God’s Intimacy Prayer-Restoration in God’s Presence.
This Course will Ignite Intimacy and Personal Experiences as well as Knowledge of Jesus!
It is a Method to Help You Find God's True Nature and Who You Are in Him!
JESUS PLUS NOTHING SAVES YOU
This is a detailed discussion on who Jesus is and how you get saved!
We All Have the Same Dilemma, We're Dead in Sin
Every human being, ethnic group, race, or gender finds themselves in this same dilemma. Therefore, there are three questions you would be wise to ask yourself and extremely prudent to answer.
One, why do I need to be saved?
Two, what does it mean for me to be saved?
Three, how am I saved?
I believe Only Jesus plus nothing not only saves you but answers these three questions.
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