Enjoying God - Week #10

The email that went out last week posted a distant past posting of our book club because of problems that we have had with the blog site, but the correct entry is online at the site now and can be read there. Thanks for your patience!

(Before completing the book Enjoying God in this posting, I’ll remind you again that from now till September we will be taking a break from reading a book, but I will post some short words of encouragement periodically until then. The book we will read in September is by Dana Candler, Deep Unto Deep. After that we will read Tozer’s Pursuit of God.)


Chapter Seven (final part): Persevering in our Quest for Intimacy

The Dark Night of the Soul
In this portion of the final chapter, S.J. Hill speaks at length about the pursuer’s “dark night” as a time when the Lord withholds the “sense” of His presence for the purpose of awakening greater hunger and longing and trust in us. He is a jealous Lover and will woo us into a place of desire for Him and Him alone. He wants us to desire Him most of all, not simply our feelings about Him.

This has been a common experience of all great men and women of God. Speaking of the story in the Song of Songs, Hill says, “The bride’s greatest desire had been to experience the presence of the Lord. Yet He hid His face from her. He didn’t leave her…Would she fervently pursue Him without feeling His presence? Would she faithfully obey Him regardless of how difficult the circumstances became? Was she seeking the Lord primarily for her own spiritual pleasure, or would she love Him for His own sake?...the ‘silence of the Lord’ was a part of His training to cause the bride to become more lovesick.”

Just like the saints of the Bible and saints since then, we don’t like going through the fire of not knowing and touching the presence of God, but if we can endure in trust, it is what creates hunger and a desperation in us to encounter Him.

Experiencing God is not for spiritual “heavyweights”, as though it’s something we win by being so deserving…”Drawing near to God is simply yearning to know Him out of your own barrenness. It’s worshipping, praying, and meditating on the Word, even when we feel little or no inspiration. It’s saying to the Father, ‘I’m struggling but I really want You.’”

One of the best things to do when in a spiritual desert is to be real with God, expressing openly what you are going through. It helps to write it out and to ask the Lord to give you Scripture that speaks truth to you about God and His ways and thoughts. Write those down and confess them to others when you have the opportunity.

He is very close to you even when He seems so far…we have many, many promises in the Word of His presence with us always. Trust what He says and hang in there. He is not offended with your struggle nor with your questions. Don’t make your love for God the primary focus but rather, His love for you. C.S.Lewis said, “On the whole, God’s love for us is a much safer subject to think about than our love for Him. Nobody can always have devout feelings…But the great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, his love for us does not.”

Another reason the Lord allows us to pass through darkness of the soul is so that we can more readily relate with others who are in need. Our dumping correct information on a person alone won’t touch his/her heart of confusion and hurt.

Hill concludes this portion of the chapter by saying that real and honest cries of the heart, though usually not very eloquent nor religious sounding, will “get the Father’s attention quicker than ten good deeds or a dozen relgious formulas…It’s not the accuracy of your seeking but the yearning of your heart that moves the Father. It’s not about how much time you think you have to spend with Him…It’s your yearning for Him that He loves and honors.”

Cultivating Intimacy

In this section of the chapter, the author assures us that although it will take desire and effort on our part to cultivate intimacy with God, it will be well worth it, and I agree wholeheartedly. There’s nothing to compare with encountering God, and so the cultivating of the garden of my heart may be hard work (especially in terms of fighting for the time) but He is more than worth it.

Hill says, “We’ve been culturally conditioned to live with constant busyness, noise, and activity. Transitioning into a time of intimacy (with God) is often difficult. The mind races. The to-do list grows. And often a little demonic voice whispers, ‘You’re wasting your time.’ But waiting on God is essential…worth the effort.”

Practically speaking, here are a few thoughts on how to begin:
1. Find a place that you and God can call your own. Doing this, if possible, helps remind you of why you’re there.
2. Find some means of calming your mind and emotions, such as:
+ Keeping a pen and notepad handy to jot down distracting thoughts that come when you try to get quiet
+ Playing worship music or playing the guitar or piano, whatever helps you.
+ Ask the Father to help you
3. Express words of love and adoration to the Father. Simple and few words repeated can be a wonderful way to bring your heart and mind into focus. There’s a beautiful statement that David makes in Psa. 119 that I love to repeat sometimes: “I am Yours, Lord; save me.” Be patient with yourself; God is patient with us, and always remember that He loves our reaching for Him, so it’s not a certain level of attaining that determines His delight in us but simply our reach for Him. As you continue to reach, you’ll find your inner being aligning bit by bit with His heart and inner restructuring is happening.
4. Look for little moments in the day to “steal away” with Him and express your love and praise to Him. This is what the Church has come to know as the “practice of the presence of God,” and this practice eventually leads one to a lifestyle of prayer and worship throughout the day and night.
5. Learn to meditate and contemplate the Word (both written and Living Word). There’s a time for studying the Scripture but it’s important to develop the ability to slow way down and really experience the Word, eating it and digesting it and letting it change your heart and mind. A natural outcome of this is that you begin to pray the Word, and that is a powerful way to pray.
6. Learn to journal, writing down both negative and positive. Getting your thoughts and emotions and doubts and fears out on paper is a first step to bringing them into the light where they lose their power to dominate you. When writing out lies that you are believing, ask the Holy Spirit to give you truth from the Word to replace those lies and begin speaking truth.
7. Practice the discipline of silence. I have done this over the years, and it is a powerful means of developing inner quiet and of becoming more sensitive to the voice of the Father Who has a lot to share. I’m still growing in this, but the little I’ve done has convinced me of its value. Hill says of practicing silence, “…He wants to speak to you. Open your heart to Him. Begin with short periods of time. Don’t say anything. Just focus on the One who lives in you. Reflect on the beauty of His heart. Contemplate His greatness. Occasionally, whisper some words of love and devotion to Him. But the purpose of silence is to allow Him to settle on you and bathe you in His peace and love. Your heart was made for this.”

In closing, keep in mind that you are unique. These suggestions by the author aren’t rules, but rather more like “scaffolding” to help hold you as you develop and build your own “house” (your heart which is God’s dwellingplace). Using suggestions from other saints helps get us started, but along the way, you will shape your time with Him uniquely, and He wants it that way because there is no one like you.

I agree with S.J. Hill that we are living in a generation unlike any before, and I believe the Holy Spirit is wooing His people and stirring up stronger desire to know God intimately. More and more believers will take radical steps to be able to know Him. As we approach the end of the age, Jesus the jealous Bridegroom will fight for His Bride. He will not relent until He has our whole heart! It will be costly but true love is costly. It cost Him His life; to know Him intimately will cost the Bride her life in the end times.

May the Spirit of Jesus, the One who loves Him radically, rest on us and continue to stir desire in our hearts for this God-Man!