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Christianity Today, November, 2007 |

Dr. Luther's Tribulation

Feelings of God's absence didn't plague only Mother Teresa.

A Christianity Today editorial | posted 10/31/2007 09:00AM

The world seemed shocked this fall when it learned that Mother Teresa experienced several decades of spiritual dryness and a profound sense of being disconnected from God.

Doubleday published Come Be My ...

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B	Posted: November 07, 2007 11:37 AM

Just an extra comment. Thanks to those willing to share that they, too, have faced this, or are facing it now. It would be wonderful to hear from anyone who has been through this and found God's presence again. It's awful to think this could be forever - if such is His will for whatever reason. For those in the midst of the darkness, there is a wonderful chapter on this is Richard' Foster's book, "Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home" called 'Prayer of the Forsaken'. I recommend it and am in prayer for all of you suffering in darkness.

Jeff Tan

Posted: November 06, 2007 6:43 PM

Tony Jordan, you wrote: "She was known to have held dying 'Hindu's' and 'Muslims' in her arms, and said to them, '...believe in your god...' I ask, is this what a 'true' Christian, who knows JESUS as personal Saviour and Lord, DOES?" 1 Corinthians 13:8 - 13 tells us: "Love does not come to an end... In short, there are three things that last: faith, hope and love; and the greatest of these is love." Blessed Mother Theresa's preaching has effectively been through action, not words. Hers was the charism to care for the sick, the dying, and the neglected. Perhaps she shuns arguments over religion, but preaches love and the Gospel by caring for those who need it. Perhaps she felt that it would be ineffective to hold a dying person, preaching the Gospel to them insistently and expect them, at that moment, to come to faith with their dying breath. Perhaps she is the neighbor who, finding someone close to death on the road, comes to the victim's aid, regardless of his religon.

J	Posted: November 06, 2007 12:45 PM


B and Christine, you're not alone.

Past. Joel Baloyi

Posted: November 06, 2007 2:40 AM

Unless we can hold on to the Word of Promise at all times, I do not know what can sustain us. Anyone who relies on feelings will soon realise that they have nothing to spur them on when these feelings dissipate. It is good to feel God, and desirable, but we need to know that whether we feel Him or not, whether we are beset with doubts and uncertainties, the certainty is in His Word of Promise. Martin Luther was right, and he had discovered the truth. David said, 'I would have lost heart (or fainted), if I had not BELIEVED that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living'! (Psalm 27:13-14).

clementina micheal

Posted: November 05, 2007 5:51 AM

IN times of despair, desolation, pains, and tribulation i don't shake! the reason is this one with God is a majority through christ our saviour! the word of God has assured me that i am more than triumphant, and indeed i through my faith in christ. God answers prayers from a sincere heart through christ! remember pray in "Jesus Name" because its only through christ that the Bible has assured us that our prayers will be heard and answered and not through some saints, or prophets, the reason is that they never died for your sins! only christ did!

Dennis

Posted: November 03, 2007 1:14 PM


I found myself weeping as I read this, and the other comments. How desperately we need each other, my dear brothers and sisters, in the dark night of the soul. Read Psalm 10. Certainly David, Paul, the Desert Fathers, innumerable saints and reformers, have been through it. It fills me with sadness that we feel so inhibited to just admit the reality of deus absconditus.

Dana	Posted: November 02, 2007 6:37 AM

dear lost and discouraged, i hope you are still reading the comments because what is happening to you happened to me five years ago. i gave up. i thought the best thing would be for me to go be with Jesus, but obviously didn't realize that wish. i was floating. by the end of a semester at Bible college, i had accumulated no friends, a family tragedy, alienated existing friends, and had nowhere to live. how did this period end? well, it ended with me giving up - in the non-destructive way. feeling utterly trapped, i finally confessed my feelings to another Christian, a TA for one of my classes, stopped trying to claw my way out of darkness and sat back and let myself be loved. the blessings that followed have been innumerable. that TA has even become my husband. i urge you, Lost friend, confess your pain to someone who can physically care for you, not just us online. surrender to loving arms. let Christ show his great love through someone.

Anonymous

Posted: November 01, 2007 8:20 AM

Dear Writer of "Lost and Discouraged," You sound like Job--read about Him and rely on a these promises and direction. John 16:33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”--NLT Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. We are not promised to have no difficulties in this world, but we are promised that God will right all wrongs at the end. God sustain you and I'll be praying for your trust in Him.

Eugene M. Wiese

Posted: November 01, 2007 7:57 AM


Doubt is possible only where faith truly exists. You cannot doubt what you do not believe. One can only feel ignored by God when one desires a closeness that will come only with death. The "Anfectung" of Luther and Sister Theresa only shows how strong their faith actually was. If only my own faith was that strong!

greg	Posted: November 01, 2007 6:40 AM

i agree with Martin Luther - when the going gets tough, get tougher. when you're feeling down and out, emotional, weak, needy and troubled, tough it out and go back to God's Word, prayer and faith. i would say im sensitive, probably overly so, and when i wasn't so mature in my faith i'd "take a break" or just kinda go off the rails for a bit. but looking back now, i can honestly say the only thing that worked in the long run was to stop being so inward looking and feeling sorry for myself, and start looking at what God has blessed me with. for every decision you can choose God, or choose the world. if you choose God every single time it starts to make a lot more sense. Matthew 13:58; without faith there can't be miracles.

Chuck

Posted: November 01, 2007 5:01 AM


Paul uses the metaphor of a race. When we are in a race, separated from the pack, are we focused on the prize and not our frailties. The fact that these saints held on in spite of the hurricane of doubt that surrounded them is the encouragement. God does not hide forever for we have all seen Him.

B	Posted: November 01, 2007 4:35 AM

After living a life of faith for over 40 years, with the joyful presence of God, 2 years ago, it was like a light went out. It felt like God ceased to exist, indeed, maybe never existed. Horror, despair, weeping, pleading. I didn't dare "tell" other believers as I feared they'd never understand. I know if I hadn't been through this, the old me wouldn't have understood either. I've shared with a few people and the most common response is that this is my fault, I must have some grave sin to confess, I must not be in obedience. Although I struggle daily with all those nagging sins of human nature, I can't point to any reason why this would have happened at this time, in this way. Yet, given the choice of believing or not believing, I choose to believe, and to daily ask for the faith to believe despite (apparent) silence. "Lord, to whom would we go?" Still, I'm terrified that God will remain silent, maybe even for the rest of my life. How long, O Lord?? My soul is downcast.

Ephrem Hagos

Posted: November 01, 2007 3:09 AM

It is not my place to say anything for or against Mother Teresa, John of the Cross, Oswald Chambers, William Cowper and Martin Luther. I can say, however, without any hesitation that Scriptures provide position in the Kingdom of heaven only for John the Baptist in spite of his doubts about Jesus as the Christ (Matt. 11: 2-15) because he served between the times of seeing the Spirit of God coming like a dove and resting on Jesus and the conclusive and once-and-for-all authentication of Jesus' glorious credentials on the cross. What is the excuse for our doubts?

Al	Posted: October 31, 2007 11:20 PM


Thankyou

Tony Jordan

Posted: October 31, 2007 9:44 PM

Martin Luther's despair and feelings of abandonment from God, are as different from that experienced by Mother Theresa, as darkness is from light. Why? Luther's dryness did not last for 50 years like Theresa. Theresa was a devout Catholic, consecrated her life to the 'Immaculate' heart of Mary, prayed to Mary, instead of through the 'Sole' Omnipotent Mediator, The Lord Jesus Christ. She was known to have held dying 'Hindu's' and 'Muslims' in her arms, and said to them, '...believe in your god...' I ask, is this what a 'true' Christian, who knows JESUS as personal Saviour and Lord, DOES? Certainly not! No wonder she did not feel the presence of God in her life for 50 years! When you give this kind of credence to Roman Catholicism, you do a terrible disservice to the Lord Jesus Christ, and His Word, which are all vitiated and invalidated by the utterly unchristian doctrine and dogmas of Catholicism. This is just not right!

Viktor

Posted: October 31, 2007 6:16 PM

Lost and discouraged, My dear friend, you may be discouraged, but never lost. In reality, the fact that you feel the pain of a struggle for your faith witnesses that you do have faith abiding deeply inside you and you are more than alive. You see, when at some point of our life we experience disconnection between our thoughts and our heart, and while we desperately try, by our usual intellectual means, to restore that comfortable harmony that we had only yesterday, we may often feel that the gap is only widening. Then we start to realize that this is the battle for our mind and choose to stand on the Word of God, despite our feelings or familiar experiences. Faith is not nothing. It’s a substance (Hebrews 11), and its nature is spiritual, given to us from above. The enemy attacks our thoughts as a weak part; yet God allows us to take this battle because we do have enough faith to overcome. The purpose? This is the only way of gaining maturity. Keep believing, our prayers are with you.

constant companionship of Jesus for those who are not greedy

Posted: October 31, 2007 5:29 PM

The times I feel most like I am being ignored by God is when I am "wanting" something. When I am just watching with him or waiting on him he is my constant companion. Greed for Jesus and greed for his immediate answers get the response from him such as God saying: "I do not rush nor do I be be hasty and you need to trust me". In the world I feel urgency and sometimes desperation but Jesus in my prayers is as cool as a cucumber; and so, sitting in the heavenlies gives us a chance to see things from an eternal perspective. So now I trust Jesus to work for my benefit as my shepherd but I do not expect him to spoil me with constant candies and sweeties just to remove my unwelcome insecurities. Jesus has given me the greatest gift of all which is "faith" and now I must draw on that faith when facing uncertainty and lonliness in the world and this drives me into the comfort of his quiet and simple companionship which is always there even when I am not getting all the answers I greedily want

Ralph

Posted: October 31, 2007 3:22 PM


"Lost and Discouraged"......hold on....He took all your sins to the cross, and then rose to Heaven with you......believe.....it's all true ...., Ralph

Clive

Posted: October 31, 2007 3:01 PM

A note to Lost and Discouraged dated Oct 31,2007 My take on your situation is that God has a very special plan for your lfe. Your are being tested for your faithfulness and patience. Continue to take hold of God's promises and meditate on the faithfulness of saints like Joseph and Job and Paul who never wavered in there faith but continued to give glory to God. I will be praying for you my friend.

Rick	Posted: October 31, 2007 12:57 PM

To allow us this sort of darkness of feeling is really great wisdom and mercy on God's part. In our world where feeling is king, were love is sexual stimulation, joy is a DVD, and peace is Christmas shopping we need to be forced to rely on the "other" of God that transcends feelings if we hope to be useful in god's kingdom and live counterculturally. I also read that people that feel the most depression are those that really identify with human misery such as those taking care of dying parents, those takeing care of the ill or poor etc. M.T.'s darkness is a testament to her faithful servatude and Martin Luther no doubt because of his awareness of religous bondage.

Kiley

Posted: October 31, 2007 12:37 PM

If God always felt uber-present, I would come to believe that I had imagined Him. The fact that He sometimes seems to retract (although, since I attend a faith-based church, the working theology of my own background would place the blame on me) reminds me that He, not I is the one in charge and that He is dynamic. In other words, he's real. To Lost and Discouraged: I cannot offer you great wisdom or concrete answers, but as soon as I click submit, I will say a 10-second prayer asking God to comfort you and restore your faith. My favorite Bible 'prayer' is: "Lord I believe. Please help my unbelief."

Andy Westbrook

Posted: October 31, 2007 12:07 PM

God accepts what we feel is our worst. We all long for this type of love. Whether your achievement is to make it out of the bed in the morning or write a novel with hopes of changing the world with its words, we can learn alot about ourselves when doing the best with what we have. Everyones experiences in life are different are they not? As a start, what is so wrong with doing the best with what you have? When a child is learning to pray he/she tends to say God is not listening because "I did not get what I wanted." There are many adults like this to. Ponder a little. Notice I said a little. What would the value of the moment be like when we say, Oh, hey God there you are, if we did not feel some sense of abandonment first. It might be that we are too busy trying to pull God down to us instead of learning the spiritual benefits of working to bring ourselves up to him. Excercise the privilege of free will. Even when you are sad, angry or confused, you are still very, very important.

Craig

Posted: October 31, 2007 11:51 AM

2 Corinthians 4:11 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. Romans 14:17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The dark night of the soul is about having your self-dependence crushed (see 2 Corinitians 1). It is not about our living "for" Christ, but about our allowing Him to live through us. We are to allow the peace "of God" to umpire in our hearts. It is a tragedy when a person is so strong that their self dependence cannot be broken. Watchman Nee speaks to these things in "The Release of the Spirit." Jesus said "Come to me and you will not hunger, believe in me and you will 'never' thirst." How sad to have fallen short of the rest of God spoken of in Hebrews 4!

Christine

Posted: October 31, 2007 11:33 AM

I am in this place with my faith now. The timing of this article couldn't be better. I think of who I consider to be patriarchs - Mother Teresa, Martin Luther, etc and see a solid faith. The reality is they also struggled with times of feeling distant and abandoned from God. This helps in my own stretch of feelings of abandonment to know the likes of Martin Luther and Mother Teresa also encountered this. I also have experienced a great amount of grace over the last few years and seen God's move in some pretty mighty ways. I never thought I would be in a place afterwards where I felt so abandoned. Now that time is here though and I really don't like it. This is an encouraging article - and Kim's comments too are also encouraging.

Lost and Discouraged

Posted: October 31, 2007 11:29 AM

The Word says " I will never leave you or forsake you" The Word says "an ever present help in times of trouble" Well I have a lot of trouble, cannot see a way out of my dilemas, kept praying the Word, crying, praying and guess what instead of things getting better, they are getting worse. I have noone and nothing to depend on anymore. I am losing my ability to believe anymore and I wish I were dead.

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