Thursday, August 3, 2023

John of the Cross

And without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Hebrews 11:6

John of the Cross states the following:

“Many of these beginners will also begin to have spiritual greed, the second capital sin. They will become discontented with what God gives them because they do not experience the consolation, they think they deserve. They begin reading many books and performing many acts of piety in an attempt to gain more and more spiritual consolation… But those who are on the right path will set their eyes on God and not on these outward things or their inner experiences. They will enter the dark night of the soul and find all these things removed. They will have all the pleasure taken away so that the soul may be purified. For a soul will never grow until it can let go of the tight grasp it has on God.'”

The quality of our experiences with God cannot be measured by what we feel. Feelings are byproducts of our experiences. They cannot be relied upon to measure the quality or godliness of what we experience. What does this mean? It means that we approach every interaction with Go by faith. We pray by faith. We worship by faith. We fast by faith. We study by faith. For without faith, it is impossible to please God. We come to God believing that he is and that he is a rewarder of us as we seek him. We trust the faith, not the feelings.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, I admit that I have pursued personal happiness and sought you for remedy when I felt like I fell short of it. I know that this is not your greatest aim for me. Lord, let me lose myself in you. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Foster, R. J., & Smith, J. B. (2005). Devotional classics: Selected readings for individuals and groups. HarperSanFrancisco.