I was recently reading about one of the old saints of the church. In the article the author penned the following: …”he was a very poor and little man (just 4’11” who became a spiritual giant…he had an insatiable longing for Jesus, His Bridegroom and the Lover of his soul…his life was devoted to prayer and serving God. His disciplines of fasting, solitude, poverty…opened up a spacious place in his soul to contemplate the beauty and the goodness of God…he showed people how to turn away from the mindless chatter and feverish activity…and instead to contemplate God in the heart.”1

Before I go on I have to pause and let you know that this man lived in the 16th century in Spain. It’s impossible for me to imagine the “mindless chatter and feverish activity” of that century (except for what I might observe in the occasional period movie) but I’m all too keenly aware of the noise and constant activity of this current day.

The writer continues:
“…the religious leaders were threatened by his intimacy with Jesus. They commanded him to stop…and they persecuted him. He refused so they flogged…imprisoned him in a dark 6 X 10′ room. They fed him nothing but bread and water. Still he would not renounce his way of passionately seeking Jesus…his dark closet lasted for nine dark months.”

Dear sisters, there’s more to read on this man of old. If you want to read further, follow the link below. But if the meantime let’s fast forward to today. Right where you are, pause and consider the following questions:

What would you do?
Do you have place within and without to which you retreat from the noise of our days?

“He had no pen or paper so he memorized the prayers of his heart.”

What are the prayers of your heart?
What are the words that you cry out to God in your moments of desperation?

When he finally escaped he shared the poems memorized of his heart with the people who sought spiritual direction from him. Over 400 years later people are still reading his poems…learning from him how to pray from the depths of their heart and to love and worship God even in their Dark Nights of the Soul.”2

In the Book of Psalms, David, whom God called, “a man after my own heart”, spoke from the depths of his heart, “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression? Do not hide Your face from Your servant: answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.” ~(Psalm 13:1, 27:9, 44:24, 69:17 NIV)

My encouragement to you today:
First and foremost let Scripture speak to you today.
For me, Psalms have long been a place of refuge.  In other moments of stress and soul anguish the Lord gives a song to my heart and lips to sing for His delight, reminding me that whatever state I am in He is a refuge, a very near and present help.

So dear ones, whatever state you may be in, pause and pen (or say) your heart’s own psalm and may they become for you a way to comfort and care for your own soul.

Stepanie Paul

Stephanie Paul serves as part of the Addiction Recovery Team at America’s Keswick as Director of Women’s Addiction Ministry. She has been married for almost 30 years to Sesky Paul who is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy. Stephanie serves alongside him as Care Group leaders in their church. They have two grown children. Her single focus in ministry at Keswick is to image Christ in grace and truth to wounded and hurting women, encouraging them to make Jesus the truest Lover of their soul and the One in whom all hope lies.
1 soulshepherding.org 
2 http://www.ccel.org/ccel/john_cross/dark_night.pdf