The Dark Night

Following Jesus on the path towards spiritual health sometimes leads us up mountaintops. Here, God’s presence is a tangible experience, and activities like prayer, scripture reading, and worship are fulfilling. However, as we continue to follow Jesus, we will inevitably be confronted with His crucifixion on the hill called Cavalry. This may seem like a place that leads to spiritual death, not life. Yet, as we follow Jesus up this hill, we will uncover a level of spiritual health we can’t find anywhere else.

Have you ever felt, or had a conscious awareness of, God’s presence? How would you describe that experience to someone?

Are our feelings always an accurate measurement of our spiritual health? Is it possible to have pleasant feelings when we’re spiritually immature and painful feelings when we’re spiritually mature? Why?

God is omnipresent, meaning He is everywhere at the same time. That said, why do you think we sometimes feel His presence as an absence (Psalm 22)?

If there was someone in your life who felt as if God were absent, how would you encourage them (Psalm 23 & 24)?

What have you discovered about God in seasons of life when He has felt absent?