Lent Devotional

The 'Dark Night of the Soul'

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In what ways do I see Christ in this passage?

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This psalm was written by a man named Heman, a singer in David's service who authored several psalms. He experienced profound darkness and wrote about it without offering a hopeful resolution. It is deeply unsettling. And yet, Heman gives us an honest picture of the harsh realities many of us face and how we often feel about God in the midst of them: Is God really with me? Does God hear me? Is God for me? Why does God seem angry with me?

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The word selah functions as a kind of "holy speed bump" in the Psalms, inviting us to slow down and reflect. Heman uses it twice in this psalm — first in verse 7: "Your wrath has rested upon me, and You have afflicted me with all Your waves," and again in verse 10: "Will You perform wonders for the dead? Will the departed spirits rise and praise You?"

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These verses reveal a sorrowful perspective that often surfaces during what has been called the "dark night of the soul": the belief that despite seeking the Lord, God must be against me.

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I see this anguish ultimately fulfilled in Christ's own cry from the cross: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

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How does this passage stir my heart to repent and worship Jesus?

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Walter Brueggemann writes, "Psalm 88 is an embarrassment to conventional faith. It is the cry of a believer whose life has gone awry, who desperately seeks contact with Yahweh, but who is unable to evoke a response from God… the dark night of the soul, when the troubled person must be — and must stay — in the darkness of abandonment, utterly alone."

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This psalm reminds me how challenging it is for me to be and stay in that darkness. I need to turn from my desire for quick relief and immediate comfort. Jesus is worthy of our worship because He endured abandonment, rejection, betrayal, doubt, and suffering utterly alone. May we offer even our quiet breath and stillness as fitting worship to God in seasons as dark as this.

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How might this passage lead us to honor God and bless others?

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Through patience. We honor God when we extend patience to ourselves while fumbling through the dark night of the soul. Patience with God — holding fast to what we know to be true of His grace, even when we cannot feel it nor see it. And patience with others who are suffering. May we be longsuffering in prayer and faithful in presence.