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So, for those who have been through the dark night of the soul- how did you know when the dark night was over? Did the feeling of disconnection disappear? Did you feel joined to the Lord? Did you have a return of the wonderful old "caffeinated" experiences with the Lord?
Or were you changed forever? No going back, but a wonderful present and future?
I am six months into my experience with this and I am so sad over the disconnectedness. I miss the caffeinated days. It has been a great relief to me that the Holy Spirit has used me several times despite my inability to feel like I am hearing Him. However, I ache for that closeness. I know to trust God. I am learning to rest, I think.
Still, it would be nice to know what others experience on the other side of the dark night.
I have found comfort in reading over this thread during the past months. The words have been encouraging to me. It is still a "decaffeinated" time. I alternate between surrender and acceptance, loneliness, sadness, and anger. I have seen lots of sinful attitudes to give over to God.
It was helpful to me to read Larry Crabb's words from your quote. I have also run across some thoughts on the dark night by Gerald May in his book on Spiritual Directing. I guess what helps is knowing there are others who walk through this.
I would say that there's no going back. What seemed "normal" for you will be different from now on and may change again in the future. Don't worry too much about missing the "caffeinated" days. You can't relive the past anyway, and you could miss the deep joy that is there in the present if you try. (Joy in C. S. Lewis' sense of longing, not so much happy feelings.) I think that part of the reason for the dark night is to shake us from attachments to things and experiences that get in the way of a love for God's self.
I had forgotten about C.S. Lewis and his descriptions of longing. Longing is what this feels like. I miss Him.
The good part is the longing drives me to seek God in his scripture. I have been living in Psalm 119, which, interestingly, I could never connect with in old times.