by Mark Sandford,
In mid-April I began to feel purposeless, as if I were going
nowhere (in spite of the fact that the opposite is true). I felt heavy and
dead, and could take little joy in ministry. I have encountered many prophetic
people who have been feeling the same way. But when I tell them why, their
heavy feeling lifts.
Have you been feeling this way? Here's what I'm sensing. A
change is coming in the prophetic movement. The movement began with a vibrant
vision: we would rediscover the prophetic gift and office, and bring them back
into the life of the Church. Joy came to many as prophetic words were
fulfilled, but immature zeal has had its way. The need for accountability has
been eclipsed by a quest for the excitement of prophecies (especially personal
ones). We want so much to hear from God that we often fail to test prophetic
words, as Scripture commands (1 Corinthians 14:29, 1 Thessalonians 5:20, 1 John
4:1).
Although the Bible regards false prophecies as a very
serious matter, too many Christians treat them as a non-issue. A prophetic
leader may give false prophecy after false prophecy, and it doesn't even occur
to followers to test his words. When even our watchmen are not held accountable
for their actions, who is left to warn teachers who would stray into heresy or
pastors who would fall into sin? Ample objections come from the internet attack
dogs who spew their vitriolic fire hoses not only on fires, but on the very
fire of the Holy Spirit. But not enough prophetic voices are speaking out with
the balance of firmness and compassion needed to protect the precious gifts
with which God has entrusted us.
I sense that in order to protect His children from
themselves, at this point the Holy Spirit is applying loving discipline by
sending thousands of prophetic Christians into what St. John of the Cross
dubbed, "the dark night of the soul." . If you are feeling the
heaviness I have described, you may be one of them.
Or, if you have already been through the dark night, such
feelings may signal a call to pray for others who are entering into it. God
often causes us to feel what others feel, to prepare us to pray from a stance
of empathy rather than judgment. If this describes your situation, you are
probably beginning to feel lighter even as you read this, for you are realizing
that the emotions you have been feeling are not your own.
In the sixteenth century, in his book, "The Dark Night
of the Soul," St. John noted that when Christians discover spiritual gifts
and mystical experiences they too often fall into spiritual pride, either
knowingly or unknowingly, desiring to use these to gain notoriety. Some, aware
of this temptation, become overly scrupulous. They desperately attempt to scrub
every imperfection from their souls, unaware of a hidden motive to find peace
in their own perfection rather than in the arms of a gracious and forgiving
God.
St. John saw both of these reactions as expressions of
"spiritual gluttony." Through his own suffering he learned that
whether we are ravenous for notoriety or perfection, God cures us by putting us
on a "spiritual diet." The following are signs that this is
happening:
-- You may no longer find pleasure in the things of God or
life in general.
-- You may no longer easily feel God's presence, have
mystical experiences or hear prophetic words.
-- You may find it difficult to pray, feeling little or no
enjoyment in it.
-- You may feel spiritually dead.
-- Because of all this, you may feel like God has abandoned
you.
-- You may feel like you are backsliding.
--You may feel like everyone has forsaken you, especially
your friends.
You may take all this to mean that God has removed His
presence. Quite the opposite is true; He has increased it! It only feels like
He has removed it, for two reasons. First, during the dark night you may feel
like you are walking from a dimly lit room into full sunlight. The brightness
of His holy presence can seem blinding, so that you can't see the light of His
presence until the eyes of your spirit slowly adjust. Second, Malachi 3:3 says
that God refines us like gold and silver. His increased presence can heat up
the metal of your heart, causing dross to surface more quickly. You can become
so aware of your sins and the deadness of your soul, that at first you do not
perceive that His presence has increased.
You may also think the dark night is punishment or reaping
for wrongdoing. It is not; it is God's way of leading you to despair of relying
on your own strengths, abilities or gifts. In the process, you may discover
sins you were previously unaware of, but these did not cause the dark night;
they were merely revealed by it. So don't blame yourself for the dark night; be
thankful that God is using this experience to build humble character that
reflects more of His likeness.
How long must the dark night last? St. John suggested that
in order for it to be effective, it should last at least a few years, but that
is not absolute; there are many exceptions. It will last however long it takes
to get you to the point of despair of self and then beyond it, to where you can
abide in Christ, resting in the knowledge that without Him you can do nothing
(John 15:5). Only God knows how long that will take.
Meanwhile, do not try ever harder to hear God or spend extra
hours in fasting or Bible study in order to jump-start your stalled spiritual
sensitivities (not that you should avoid these activities, but do avoid basing
them on this motive). Rather, lean into God's embrace and cling to Him like a
child in need. Jesus said, "Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God
like a child will not enter it at all. And He took them in His arms and began
blessing them, laying His hands on them" (Mark 10:15-16, NAS).
To live in Jesus' embrace is, quite simply, God's goal for
the prophetic movement. For what is the ultimate purpose of any prophecy,
whether it be a word of encouragement, a warning, or even an announcement of
impending discipline? Simply to draw us closer to God. What, then, is most
destructive to the prophetic movement? Focusing on prophecies instead of God.
For those of you who have been feeling the heaviness in
brothers and sisters who are entering the dark night, pray that this will not
be a time of torment for them. Torment will come if they strive to recover the
thrills His gifts once gave them. Pray for the grace to let that go and to
embrace the choice fruit which God designed this season to produce -- sweet
contentment in the arms of a loving God. Imagine the babies Jesus took into His
arms in Mark 10. Were they prideful? How could they be?
Babies have no gifts or achievements in which to take pride.
Did they seek gifts instead of God? Babies know nothing of such things. All
that matters to them is the rapturous heart-to-heart and spirit-to-spirit flow
of the Father's love. "Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a
child will not enter it at all." How we squirm in His arms! We would
rather be down on the floor where we can play with our spiritual toys.
If you go through the dark night, spend a great deal of time
in the quietness of God's embrace. Choose to soak in His presence, even if you
cannot yet feel it. Eventually you will! The wait will cultivate patience and
humility. Having endured a period without spiritual accomplishments, more than
ever, you will know that you truly can do nothing in the power of your flesh.
You will become more aware of your shortcomings and sins, yet be far less
self-conscious and more self-accepting than before.
And when you finally begin to imbibe the deep satisfaction
of the Father's love, it will make you "poor in spirit" (Matthew
5:3), for you will no longer feel the need to become rich in spiritual gifts.
When gifts come, you will enjoy the God who gives them. When they are absent,
you will enjoy God.
When the dark night has made you into a child who knows no
reason for pride, it is then that God will increase the gifts, not only because
you can be trusted with them, but because there will be less danger that you
might use them to bring harm to yourself and others. And although you will be
more able to feel God's presence and power, you will no longer see feelings as
the measure of God's presence and power.
Lust for emotional highs will fade within the placid
stillness of God's heavenly hug. And you will be able to invite others into
that peace; you will be able to speak the truth -- even hard truth -- from no
other motive than love.
Not everyone's "dark night" will look exactly like
that outlined by St. John of the cross. Throughout Scripture we see saints who
experienced elements of it, but each one's list of woes had its own
configuration. What was common to all is that their time of suffering always
led to the same blessed place.
David wrote, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken
me?" (Psalm 22:1 NAS). But he also wrote many of the most joyful Psalms.
Job complained, "I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me"
(Job 30:20, NAS). But his life after his time of trial was twice as blessed as
before (Job 42:12 NAS). In Lamentations 3:1-33, Jeremiah mentioned many of the elements
of the dark night. He complained, "He has driven me away and made me walk
in darkness rather than light (vs. 2, NIV). "Even when I cry out and call
for help, He shuts out my prayer" (vs. 8, NAS). "My people...mock me
in song all day long" (vs. 14, NIV). "I have been deprived of
peace" (verse 17, NIV). "My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped
from the Lord" (vs. 18, NIV).
Although Jeremiah's prophetic gift brought him nothing but
rejection from his countrymen, he found his blessed place in God's embrace:
"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope; because of the Lord's
great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new
every morning; great is your faithfulness" (vss. 21-23).
In Lamentations 3:24 (NIV), Jeremiah said, "The Lord is
my portion; therefore I will wait on Him." This outlook was what got him
through his trial, and the increase of this outlook was the end-result. What is
your portion? The extent of your gifts? The "high" they make you
feel? The admiration they inspire in others? Being right when others are wrong?
Your mind might protest that this is not so, but only God knows your heart. He
knows how long it will take you to learn to really live the words, "The
Lord is my portion."
You may pray that the length of the dark night be shortened,
but do not be dismayed if it is not. I sense that for many, it will last for
the next three to four years. For you, it may last for any length of time
within that time period. During that season, prophecies may be scarcer than before.
Spiritual highs may be harder to come by. But afterward, you will find yourself
in a place to be guided by a new vision -- one centered on the simple premise
that it's all about the Father's love.
Jesus said, "Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground
and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many
seeds" (John 12:24, NIV). In order to bear the fruit God intends, the
current prophetic movement must die -- not die off, mind you, but die to its
present form and state, to be resurrected into the balance that God intends for
it.
"The Lord is my portion." When this season passes,
for those who have allowed God to have His way, this may become the
catch-phrase of the new vision for His prophetic movement.
http://www.hiswholehouse.org/blog/from-the-archives-a-word-for-the-prophetic-movement-by-mark-sandford
------
Some backstory:
Recently, I was reviewing old posts, and my attention was drawn to this word, and my spirit jumped on it. "This is for a lot of folks right now."
Mark Sandford (the author) contacted me about it and pointed out that this was a word given four years ago about the four year period that just ended.
He adds, "For those who have been through that time in the dark night, it would bring hope to let them know that the four year period ended in mid-April. Please mention that. And mention that this doesn't mean that everyone's dark night lasted for exactly that four-year period, but it does mean that many people are now getting beyond it."
In any case, yes, he'll have a follow-up word for it this summer.
Excellent!
