Dark Night of the Soul- part 5 of 6

The fourth main reason for the Holy Spirit’s leading into a spiritual desertion is in relation to sin in general. Each of us is tempted at times to treat particular sins lightly, or to compromise with certain sins that we believe are private and of have no effect upon others. Yet, to God all sin is an offense and must be dealt with directly and succinctly. All sin, whether it is a matter of a secret habit or not, will eventually find its way outward to negatively affect our relationships.



Christopher Love gives his perspective on the matter when he writes in his treatise, The Dejected Soul’s Cure, "God may withdraw his love and favour from the soul out of an act of wisdom, that thereby he may let his people see and consider that there is more evil really in sin than ever there did appear seeming good in the commission of sin…and…that thereby he might make his people to be more afraid of sinning against him, lest the comforts be again eclipsed; for I must reason thus, before I commit any sin, that if I do this I break the righteous law of God, and if I do break his law God will break my heart and break my peace; and shall I make no care of committing a sin against God, seeing by the committing thereof I must lie under the sense of Gods’ wrath."


The fifth reason given is similar to the previous, and it relates to the issue of gross sins. These sins are described as gross, willful, and intentional. These are sins that violate the clear mandates of God’s word, and lead to the most severe sense of God’s desertion. They are sins that most grieve and quench the Holy Spirit. These gross sins were thought to grow out of a slow process of contemplation and disposition, whereby God afforded the believer many opportunities to flee from such temptations through a variety of warnings, but the believer heeded not to those warnings. The desertion in this case is most severe, and puts the believer through the refiner’s fire to purge them unto repentance.


The next reason given for such God caused desertions is to draw us and keep us near to Him. Thomas Brooks expounds as follows: "By God’s withdrawing from his people, he prevents his people’s withdrawing from him; and so by an affliction he prevents a sin. For God to withdraw from me is but my affliction, but for me to withdraw from God, that is my sin, Heb. 10:38-39; and therefore it were better for me that God should withdraw a thousand times from me, than that I should once withdraw from God. God therefore forsakes us, that we may not forsake our God."


The result of such a desertion is to allow us to realize how excellent the intimacy we had with God was, and how much we long to have it again. It affords us the opportunity to bring to remembrance that special relationship, and to look forward to embrace it again. It brings to light how everything else pales in comparison to this intimacy, and reduces everything else to a secondary place. Every little complaint previously held and expressed becomes foolishness, and we desire God more than anything or anyone.