Journey Through the Wall/Pandemic

• Emotionally healthy spirituality requires that every follower of Jesus--at some point will--go through the pain of the wall--"the dark night of the soul."** Why?
• This is God's way of rewiring and "purging our affections and passions" [our unhealthy attachments and idolatries of the world--including his blessings] so that we might delight in his love and enter into a richer, fully communion with him. Is knowing this an encouragement to your walk with God?
• Failure to understand and surrender to God working in you at the Wall results in great long-term pain, ongoing immaturity and confusion, while receiving the gift of God in the Wall transforms our lives forever.
• Just as a physical wall stops us from moving ahead, God "stops us" in our spiritual journey through a spiritual wall in order to radically transform our character.
• Often, we are brought to the Wall by circumstances and crises beyond our control and beyond our ability to handle it. How long will this last?

• Is your faith "working"? Or do you feel stuck, helpless, hopeless?
• Do you wonder what God is trying to do to you?
• In your current season of life, what is the greatest obstacle that you face? If you're going through a Wall, briefly share one way it impacted you and your view and relationship with God.

What will going through an unbearable impossible Wall do for you?

1. A greater level of brokenness.
• How "offendable" are you?
• Are you able to never be/feel insulted (when you are being criticized and judged unfairly)?
• When offended do you react, act offensively or defensively or indifferently (Whatever)?
• "Blessed is he who expects nothing [reward, approval, "blessing," etc], for he shall enjoy everything [Covid-19, dying, death]." St. Francis of Assissi.
2. A greater level of holy unknowing (mystery).
• How comfortable are you with not being in control and not knowing what will happen?
• Can success be a terrible thing, while a terrible event can be a rich blessing?
• Do you "enjoy" mystery (Ps 18:11)? [The darkest time of night is right before the dawn.]
3. A deeper ability to wait on God (Isa 40:31).
• Can you wait seemingly forever with joy, contentment, faithfulness, praises and thanksgiving (Heb 11:13)?
4. A greater detachment.
• Do you ask yourself "Am I happy?" or "Am I free? (1 Cor 7:29-31)"
• How attached are you ("nailed to") behaviors, habits, things and people in an unhealthy way?
• Do you welcome God cutting off your attachments--even to his blessings upon your life [family, friends, church] (Lk 14:26)?
• Are you content to be "in Christ alone" [with your attachments cut off] (Lk 23:46)?

Conclusions:

1. Life is hard (Lk 9:23).
• Do we subconsciously think that if we believe in Jesus and trust God, our life won't be as difficult?
2. You are not that important. 
• God and Jesus is the "I AM" (Exo 3:14; John's Gospel). We are not.
• Jesus' priority was never himself but God's glory (Jn 11:4).
• Our lives are to be lived for the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31).
3. Your life is not about you.
• Why do we often make it about us? About how our feelings are hurt? About our happiness?
• Life is about loving God and others (Dt 6:5; Lev 19:18; Jn 13:34; 2 Cor 5:15).
4. You are not in control.
• Why do we live as though we have control over our own lives and over the lives of others?
• We live only because God allows us to (Ac 17:28). 
5. You are going to die.
• Why do we not like to speak of death that will come upon all human beings?
• Why do we fear death?
• Our lives are entirely in God's hands (Jn 11:9-10). 

**John of the Cross divides the dark night into two levels:

1. The first level ("the night of the sense") is the one all Christians encounter as we journey with Christ.
2. The second ("the night of the spirit") is for a very few. It is "violent and severe" as we "are dragged down and immersed again into a worse degree of affliction more severe and darker and more grievous ... the brighter and purer is the supernatural and divine light, the more it darkens the soul."

Reference: Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero.