Hold on to me
Are you in a time of joyless spiritual darkness? Do you feel like you are doing the right things, but at some point a gloom hovers over your spiritual life? Do you think, because all your joy is being taken away, that you did something wrong? Do you feel that if you try harder mentally, it could pull you out of the crisis? Purification may take place. Listen to an explanation of what John of the Cross (Spanish monk, 1542-1581) calls the dark night of the soul. He tells us, “The“ dark night ”is when these people lose all the joys they once experienced in their devotional life. This is because God wants to purify them and take them to greater heights. He goes on to say, "There are some who get angry with themselves at this point and think that their loss of joy is the result of something they did or failed to do. They will make a fuss and do whatever they can to regain that consolation. They will strive to become saints in a day. You will make all kinds of resolutions more spiritual, but the greater the resolution, the greater the case. Their problem is that they lack the patience to wait for what God would give them and when God wants to give them. You need to learn spiritual tolerance that will arise in the dark night. "
Aren't we going in so often to change something? We think we may have to do something to regain our joy. Have you ever thought that God would take something so good away from you so that He could purify you? Often we come to the conclusion that we did something wrong or that we feel rejected by God. God's purpose is always greater.
John of the Cross continues: “But there will come a time when God will ask them to grow deeper. He will remove the previous consolation from the soul to teach it virtue and prevent it from developing vices. In each of the seven major sins it becomes clear how the soul began to abuse its spiritual comfort and why God must take it away in order to cleanse the soul of these imperfections. "
We need to realize how limited we are and that we cannot contribute. What and who we are is because of God. All that we are comes from Him. Often we are tempted to believe. If we only do the right "spiritual things" and experience joy through it, then it is because of our great deed. We are in danger if we believe this, because we are enthroned when we pretend that the fruit of the Spirit in our lives is a result of our great works.
Don't we fall victim to the belief that how much God works is up to us? We'll miss the mark if we think we have that kind of power. God is in full control and everything that happens is because of him and not because of us. We cannot add or subtract anything from what He did for us. We live by grace alone.
I have found that when I find myself in a state of joylessness and look back, I notice how I have neglected my time with God. We should hold on to Jesus like a little child hanging on his mother's skirt. A child loves to hold on to mom as close as possible, so we should hold on to Jesus. Focus only on Him, hold on to Him and follow where He leads. The child doesn't do anything but hold on.
With the withdrawal of joy, God receives our attention and wants to cleanse us of the chaff. God wants us to hold on. If we don't hold on to Him, we become distracted and listen to all sorts of other voices or focus on ourselves in our situation. In His presence we will see the real God stretching out his arms all day to hold us and saying something like, "Hold on to me, I have a plan for you. But now you need a little cleansing to keep going to walk on the narrow path. "
If we hold on, we will learn that God has not forgotten us. He does not reject us, but has our purification and holiness in mind. Without the daily, even hourly feeding of our relationship with God, we lose understanding of who this true God is. He is the living God who has full control over everything. God lives and wants to live in us.
Let's not neglect our vital time with Him. He keeps calling us. "Hold on to me. I want to love you. Come and trust."
Blessed be,
Sandra
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