Hope For Those Dark Nights

Why do so many believers go through the experience known  as the "Dark Night of the Soul"?" J. I. Packer says:

[Sometimes] “God brings on dryness, with resultant restlessness of heart, in order to induce a new depth of humble, hopeful openness to himself, which he then crowns with a liberating and animating reassurance of his love – one that goes beyond anything that was sensed before. As Christ’s humiliation and grief on the cross preceded his exaltation to the joy of his throne, so over and over again humbling experiences of impotence and frustration precede inward renewing, with a sense of triumph and glory, in the believer’s heart. Thus, with wisdom adapted to each Christian’s temperament, circumstances, and needs, our heavenly Father draws and binds his children closer to himself.”

     - J. I. Packer, Rediscovering Holiness [Servant Publications, 1992], pages 100-01.

HT: Sam Storms