Journeying Through The Wall

Welcome to Missio Dei

Connection Card

Turn to

Pew

Pew Screen

Screen

AppMissio Dei App Text missiodeichicago app to 77977New Series: Emotional Healthy Spirituality Guided by the ethos of our value of renewal. "we experience God’s restorative power flowing into and mending the broken and hurting places, and we join the stream of this grand renewal project by making known the all encompassing love of JESUS in our neighborhoods & city”Major area of hurt and brokenness is emotional healthDuring the the next 6 weeks we’ll exploreEmotional healthDefined as our ability to be self-aware and love well Contemplative spiritualitySlowing down to cultivate our relationship with Jesus. Peter Scazzero’s Emotional Healthy Spirituality Buy the Booklink in the AppWork through the resource throughout the week to mature in your emotional heal

App

Missio Dei App Text missiodeichicago app to 77977

New Series: Emotional Healthy Spirituality

Guided by the ethos of our value of renewal.

"we experience God’s restorative power flowing into and mending the broken and hurting places, and we join the stream of this grand renewal project by making known the all encompassing love of JESUS in our neighborhoods & city”

Major area of hurt and brokenness is emotional health

During this series we are exploring

Emotional health

Defined as our ability to be self-aware and love well

Contemplative spirituality

Slowing down to cultivate our relationship with Jesus

Peter Scazzero’s Emotional Healthy Spirituality

Last Week: Family History

Going Back to Go Forward

Addressing our past in order to break cycles of generational sin

Our generation prides itself on openness

Openness can lead to distraction.

No longer living distracted lives

We can mistake being progressive as being open minded

We can mistake being progressive as being open minded,

Or using our circumstances as an excuse for personal sin and dysfunctional patterns.

That we can use our circumstances as an excuse for personal sin and dysfunctional patterns.

We can use our circumstances as an excuse for personal sin and dysfunctional patterns.

Avoids areas of dysfunction and pain

We can use our circumstances as an excuse for personal sin and dysfunctional patterns.

Avoids areas of dysfunction and pain

English Standard Version Chapter 15

15 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.”

“If we do not transform our pain, we will most assuredly transmit it.” - Richard Rohr

Today: Journeying Through The Wall

If we do not transform our pain, we will most assuredly transmit it. - Richard Rohr

How can our pain be transformed when God is seemingly absent.

In the 1987 U2 album, The Joshua Tree, the Song But I still haven't found what I’m looking for

I have climbed the highest mountains, I have run through the fields - Only to be with you

I have climbed the highest mountains, I have run through the fields

Only to be with you

I have run I have crawled, I have scaled these city walls - Only to be with you

I have run I have crawled, I have scaled these city walls

Only to be with you

But I still haven't found What I'm looking for

I have pursued and I have believed and still you are not there.

But I still haven't found What I'm looking for

This song resonates, because it speaks to those seasons, those stages of faith, when God is seemingly absent,

When the silence is defining and the need is desperate.

Mother Teresa. “Jesus has a very special love for you. As for me, the silence is so great I look and do not see, listen and do not hear.”

These seasons are real and critical stages of our faith, yet they tend to be avoided.

Growth and maturity in Christ requires going through the wall.

not to just get through it, stubborn, endurance

How we journey in these dry and dark seasons will result in either longterm pain or the perfecting of our story.

Embrace the journey.

The Experience

I feel dry

No movement in faith

I feel as if God has abandoned me

Chapter 12

English Standard Version Chapter 12

12 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. - (ESV)

“If we do not transform our pain, we will most assuredly transmit it.” - Richard Rohr

English Standard Version Chapter 12

12 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

Chapter 15

15 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” - (ESV)

English Standard Version Chapter 15

15 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.”

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” - (ESV)

Chapter 21

English Standard Version Chapter 12

12 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. 2 And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. - (ESV)

15 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” - (ESV)

The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.” - (ESV)

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), (ESV)

Called - out of UR, comfort, safety and certainty of his fathers house at 75 years old.

Given a Promise - Great Nation and Blessing to the World

Waiting on the Promise - for years

The promise was predicated on Abraham producing children

The window of promise was closing

The voice of God was silent

Taught to Trust

Obedience Tested

I have climbed the highest mountains

I have climbed the highest mountains, I have run through the fields

I have run through the fields

Only to be with you

I have run I have crawled

I have run I have crawled, I have scaled these city walls

I have scaled these city walls

Only to be with you

But I still haven't found What I'm looking for

But I still haven't found

What I'm looking for

In the Critical Journey, Janet Hagberg writes about the critical journey of faith and its stages or seasons

Life changing awareness of God

ENCOUNTER

Gospel is shared w/ you for the first time

Encounter God

Awareness of God

Gospel is seen in people living the way of Jesus

Powerful encounter w/ God through worship, prayer or dreams

See the ki

Discipleship

LEARN

Bible studies, reading, observing

Sponge w/ all things pertaining to God

The active life

Learn about God

Learn about God through discipleship

DO

Serve the church

Serve others

Spiritual activity

The wall - Hard, Spiritually Dry, Seems like God is Absent

The journey inward

Serve God

IN

Faith rediscovers God

Healing and reordering of the motives of the heart

The journey outward

OUT

WALL

Hit the WALL

New passion, conviction and power

Transformed into love

Growth and maturity in Christ requires going through the wall. How we journey in the dark night of the soul will result in longterm pain or the perfecting of our story.

Holy & Whole ()

The Message Chapter 1

Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love.

The most crucial seasons of our faith tend to be avoided.

Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love.

Growth and maturity in Christ requires going through the wall. How we journey in the dark night of the soul will result in longterm pain or the perfecting of our story.

Embrace the journey.

The Dark Night of the Soul

Growth and maturity in Christ requires going through the wall. How we journey in the dark night of the soul will result in longterm pain or the perfecting of our story.

I talked about the critical importance of paying attention to our feelings in order to know God,

One form of idolatry of the spiritual life is the worship of feelings

The “dark night” protects us from worshiping them.

The dark night of loving fire

The “dark night” protects us from worshiping them.

the “dark night” protects us from worshiping them.

St. John of the Cross knew the human tendency to become attached to feelings of and about God, mistaking them for God himself. These sensations, rich or empty, are not God but only messengers from God that speak to us of him.

This is one of the more common idolatries of the spiritual life. St. John of the Cross knew the human tendency to become attached to feelings of and about God, mistaking them for God himself. These sensations, rich or empty, are not God but only messengers from God that speak to us of him.

The “dark night” protects us from worshiping them.

The dark night of loving fire

In the Critical Journey, Janet Hagberg writes about the critical journey of faith.

Life changing awareness of God

1.Life changing awareness of God - ENCOUNTER

ENCOUNTER

Discipleship

2. Discipleship - LEARN

LEARN

The active life

3. The active life - DO

DO

The wall - the journey inward

4. The wall - the journey inward - IN

IN

The journey outward

5. The journey outward - OUT

OUT

Transformed into love

6. Transformed into love - WHOLE & HOLY

Holy & Whole (Ephesians 1:4)

English Standard Version Chapter 1

4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

New Living Translation Chapter 1

4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes

English Standard Version Chapter 1

4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

crisis

Compounding crisis

crisis

other things no longer work

Other things no longer work

Can’t replicate or regurgitate the spiritual activity or encounters of the past

Eternal dissonant

God sends you inward

emerge out of that with a transformed love

Emerge out of that with a transformed love

eternal dissonance

Eternal dissonance

1 cor 4 - not receiving praise from man.

value system goes from praise from man to praise from God

Value system goes from praise from man to praise from God

reroute your desires and longings into a different area

Reroute your desires and longings into a different area

create different tensions

Most christians and church don’t have a theological door to the inner life. or answers for when you hit the wall.

Fill it with confession

The only person that works is the person of Jesus.

Seeking something other - interrogation

The only person that works is the person of Jesus.

You don't get through the wall, you go through it with Jesus

Eternal dissonant

Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. - (MSG)

The Experience

I feel dry

No movement in faith

I feel as if God has abandoned me

is often sparked by an event or crisis that strikes us close to our core.

If we have been people of strong faith, our life, though not necessarily easy, has fit nicely into our faith framework. Then the event or crisis often takes on major proportions. It often strikes close to our core,

This stage or season is often sparked by an event or crisis that strikes us close to our core.

CS LEWIS - Wrote about a theology of pain in Problems with Pain

CS LEWIS - Theologized about pain in - Problems with Pain

Married Joy Davidman - cancer, wedding ceremony on the hospital bed. divorced.

Married Joy Davidman - cancer, wedding ceremony on the hospital bed.

He experienced pain, the stage of crisis

“But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence. You may as well turn away. The longer you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become. There are no lights in the windows. It might be an empty house. Was it ever inhabited? It seemed so once.

People of faith, struggling with GOD.

Peter is a prime example of how crisis can throw us off.

People of faith, struggling with GOD.

Peter is a prime example of how crisis can through us off.

Finding himself in places GOD seems incredibly distant.

Mother Teresa. “Jesus has a very special love for you. As for me, the silence is so great I look and do not see, listen and do not hear.”

Peter is a prime example of how crisis can throw us off.

For the first time, our faith does not seem to work.

Pride. Denial. Abandonment. Sorrow. Healing.

Our formula of faith, whatever that may have been, does not work any more

Pride. Denial. Abandonment. Sorrow. Healing.

For the first time, our faith does not seem to work.

For the first time, our faith does not seem to work. We feel remote, immobilized, unsuccessful, hurt, ashamed, or reprehensible. Neither our faith nor God provides what we need to soothe us, heal us, answer our prayers, fulfill our wishes, change our circumstances, or solve our problems. Our formula of faith, whatever that may have been, does not work any more, or so it appears. We are stumped, hurting, angry, betrayed, abandoned, unheard, or unloved. Many simply want to give up. Their life of faith may even seem to have been a fraud at worst, a mirage at best.

For the first time, our faith does not seem to work.

Neither our faith nor God provides what we need to soothe us, heal us, answer our prayers, fulfill our wishes, change our circumstances, or solve our problems.

"There must be other ways of being spiritual that are even more satisfying than this and will heighten my sense of God-likeness. I'm going to search for them. "

We are stumped, hurting, angry, betrayed, abandoned, unheard, or unloved.

Many simply want to give up.

We are stumped, hurting, angry, betrayed, abandoned, unheard, or unloved. Many simply want to give up.

Frustrating Season

SPIRITUAL LIFE IS OUT OF HARMONY

Can’t replicate or regurgitate the spiritual activity or encounters of the past

Fresh encounter w/ God

Discipleship - Learn more to road map this experience

Serve - Do more

We crave something more personal, more fulfilling.

We become aware of what Pascal called, the "God-shaped vacuum", but there is confusion as to how to fill it.

Eternal dissonant (SPIRITUAL LIFE IS OUT OF HARMONY)

The only person that works is the person of Jesus.

You don't get through the wall, you go through it with Jesus

The deep and very personal inward journey.

God sends you inward

Emerge out transformed in His love

Can’t replicate or regurgitate the spiritual activity or encounters of the past

God sends you inward

Emerge out transformed in His love

It almost always comes as an unsettling experience yet results in healing for those who continue through it.

a deep and very personal inward journey.

It almost always comes as an unsettling experience yet results in healing for those who continue through it.

The deep and very personal inward journey.

It almost always comes as an unsettling experience yet results in healing for those who continue through it.

We become aware of what Pascal called, the "God-shaped vacuum", but there is confusion as to how to fill it.

The deep and very personal inward journey.

“vertical people." It is a time when the issues go primarily up and down between you and God.

This stage is often lonely, because it is a journey with yourself and with God.

Others don’t understand, because quick fixes don’t work...

We become a “vertical people."

It is a time when the issues go primarily up and down between you and God.

The only person that works is the person of Jesus.

being in control or being spiritually powerful, now have a hollow ring for many in this stage. We crave something more personal, more fulfilling. The "God-shaped vacuum" of the French philosopher Pascal now has been recognized, but there is confusion as to how to fill it.

You don't get through the wall, you go through it with Jesus

Breaking the Box

As one person put it, "My life was going along well, but it felt so flat, as if I would never get any deeper. So I went for help; not for a specific problem but for a disease of the soul:

This stage is often lonely, because it is a journey with yourself and with God. Others don’t understand, because quick fixes don’t work...

The psalmists often wrote of their search for integrity before God. One of the best-known passages comes from : "Search me, a God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!"

Breaking the Box

In this stage the God breaks out of the box we put him in.

Image of God

Well crafted image of God to provide us comfort, where there has been pain.

Ex. If we had a brutal father or an absent one and, therefore, cannot relate to God as father, we have to experience healing and forgive our own fathers before we can redeem or heal the old image of God as father.

If we had a brutal father or an absent one and, therefore, cannot relate to God as father, we have to experience healing and forgive our own fathers before we can redeem or heal the old image of God as father.

Ex. If we had a brutal father or an absent one and, therefore, cannot relate to God as father, we have to experience healing and forgive our own fathers before we can redeem or heal the old image of God as father.

True healing has been avoided - wounded-ness needs to heal

The mystery of our will meeting God's will face to face.

Our wrestling with the Wall plays a vital role in the process of our spiritual healing.

The Wall represents the place where another layer of transformation occurs and a renewed life of faith begins for those who feel called and have the courage to move into it.

Our will meeting God's will face to face.

We decide anew whether we are willing to surrender and let God direct our lives.

This time of healing has to do with slowly breaking through the barriers we have built between our will and a newer awareness of God in our lives.

Thus the Wall differs for everyone. Fundamentally, it has to do with slowly breaking through the barriers we have built between our will and a newer awareness of God in our lives.

The psalmists often wrote of their search for integrity before God.

: "Search me, a God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!"

Confronts the motives of your heart

1 cor 4 - not receiving praise from man.

He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God. - (NIV)

1 cor 4 - not receiving praise from man.

Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God. - (NIV)

Value system goes from praise from man to praise from God

Reroute your desires and longings into a different area

Create different tensions

Most christians and church don’t have a theological door to the inner life. or answers for when you hit the wall.

It is easy when caged at this stage to revert to some earlier stage. Our discomfort makes us long for a more friendly or familiar surrounding.

Always questioning

We are ever learning, never coming to truth.

Consumed by self assessment

Consumed with finding self, not with finding faith. Often we try personal growth just to know ourselves better. But we remain closed.

Immobilized

A lack of or loss of intimacy, with self and others.

We can learn from others, even be in groups together, but we cannot connect fully with them for fear of being found out.

Sometimes people drop off the journey totally at this point. Overwhelmed by pain or crises in our lives, we absolutely cut ourselves off from God.

The mystery of our will meeting God's will face to face.

God is always there with open arms to welcome us back to the journey. But, being so frightened or disillusioned by life's events, we may shut God out completely.

Our wrestling with the Wall plays a vital role in the process of our spiritual healing.

The Wall represents the place where another layer of transformation occurs and a renewed life of faith begins for those who feel called and have the courage to move into it.

Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. - (MSG)

LET GO OF SPIRITUAL EGO (SELF-CENTEREDNESS)

The Wall represents our will meeting God's will face to face.

We decide anew whether we are willing to surrender and let God direct our lives.

Our experience of God at the Wall takes on different nuances based on our personal needs for healing and renewal.

The only person that works is the person of Jesus.

ACCEPT GOD'S PURPOSE FOR OUR LIVES

Thus the Wall differs for everyone. Fundamentally, it has to do with slowly breaking through the barriers we have built between our will and a newer awareness of God in our lives.

Types of Resistance at the Wall

There are characteristic types of people who, when arriving at the Wall, try to avoid it or defeat it rather than experience it.

Strong Egos

SEEK WHOLENESS THROUGH PERSONAL HEALING AND PILGRIMAGE

Self-Deprecators

Guilt/Shame-Ridden

Seeking something other - interrogation

Intellectuals

BE WILLING TO COMMIT TO WHATEVER IT TAKES

High Achievers

Doctrinaire

Ordained

We have spent our own energy; we have come to the end of our ropes.

We are ready to learn about freedom-the liberty of living without grasping. In a more profound sense than ever before, we have to let God direct our lives.

The only person that works is the person of Jesus.

Abraham wouldn’t have been able to be obedient to God unless he walking through the wall of waiting, wrestling and trusting in God.

We have to take the thick Wall apart piece by piece. Others move through it rather quickly. Others will encounter the Wall repeatedly at different levels at different times.

Going through the Wall

Discomfort

Surrender

Healing

You don't get through the wall, you go through it with Jesus

Abraham wouldn’t have been able to be obedient to God unless he walking through the wall of waiting, wrestling and trusting in God.

Awareness, Forgiveness, Acceptance, Love

Closeness to God

Discernment

Melting, Molding

Stuck at the journey inward?

Solitude and Reflection

Always questioning - We are ever learning, never coming to truth.

It is easy when caged at this stage to revert to some earlier stage. Our discomfort makes us long for a more friendly or familiar surrounding.

Always questioning

We are ever learning, never coming to truth.

Consumed by self assessment - consumed with finding self, not with finding faith. Often we try personal growth just to know ourselves better. But we remain closed.

Consumed by self assessment

Consumed with finding self, not with finding faith. Often we try personal growth just to know ourselves better. But we remain closed.

Immobilized - a lack of or loss of intimacy, with self and others. We feel we are on this journey by ourselves. We can learn from others, even be in groups together, but we cannot connect fully with them for fear of being found out.

Immobilized

A lack of or loss of intimacy, with self and others. We feel we are on this journey by ourselves. We can learn from others, even be in groups together, but we cannot connect fully with them for fear of being found out.

It is easy when caged at this stage to revert to some earlier stage. Our discomfort makes us long for a more friendly or familiar surrounding.

Sometimes people drop off the journey totally at this point. Overwhelmed by pain or crises in our lives, we absolutely cut ourselves off from God. We repudiate the way. It is tragic and sad, but possible. Of course, God is always there with open arms to welcome us back to the journey. But, being so frightened or disillusioned by life's events, we may shut God out completely.

How do we move forward?

LET GO OF SPIRITUAL EGO (SELF-CENTEREDNESS)

ACCEPT GOD'S PURPOSE FOR OUR LIVES

SEEK WHOLENESS THROUGH PERSONAL HEALING AND PILGRIMAGE

BE WILLING TO COMMIT TO WHATEVER IT TAKES

Catalyst for Movement

FINDING PEACE THROUGH GIVING UP THE SEARCH FOR SELF

FINDING PEACE THROUGH GIVING UP THE SEARCH FOR SE LF

ALLOWING FOR NEW CERTAINTY IN GOD

ALLOWING FOR NE W CERTAINTY IN GOD

OPEN TO THE COST OF OBEDIENCE

Encounter God

Learn about God

Peter

Serve God

WALL

The most crucial seasons of our faith tend to be avoided.

Peter the proud and the passionate

Growth and maturity in Christ requires going through the wall. How we journey in the dark night of the soul will result in longterm pain or the perfecting of our story.

Embrace the journey.

1. Life changing awareness of God - ENCOUNTER

2. Discipleship - LEARN

3. The active life - DO

4. The wall - the journey inward - IN

5. The journey outward - OUT

6. Transformed into love - WHOLE & HOLY

The mystery of our will meeting God's will face to face.

Our wrestling with the Wall plays a vital role in the process of our spiritual healing.

The Wall represents the place where another layer of transformation occurs and a renewed life of faith begins for those who feel called and have the courage to move into it.

The Wall represents our will meeting God's will face to face.

We decide anew whether we are willing to surrender and let God direct our lives.

Our experience of God at the Wall takes on different nuances based on our personal needs for healing and renewal.

Thus the Wall differs for everyone. Fundamentally, it has to do with slowly breaking through the barriers we have built between our will and a newer awareness of God in our lives.

Types of Resistance at the Wall

There are characteristic types of people who, when arriving at the Wall, try to avoid it or defeat it rather than experience it.

Strong Egos

Self-Deprecators

Guilt/Shame-Ridden

Intellectuals

High Achievers

Doctrinaire

Ordained

We have spent our own energy; we have come to the end of our ropes.

We are ready to learn about freedom-the liberty of living without grasping. In a more profound sense than ever before, we have to '"let God be God," and let God direct our lives.

Experiencing the Wall is both frightening and unpredictable. For some it requires a lengthy time.

We have to take the thick Wall apart piece by piece. Others move through it rather quickly. Others will encounter the Wall repeatedly at different levels at different times.

Going through the Wall

Discomfort

Surrender

Healing

Awareness, Forgiveness, Acceptance, Love

Closeness to God

Discernment

Melting, Molding

Solitude and Reflection

In the morning, when I rise

Give me Jesus

When I am alone

Give me Jesus

When I come to die

Give me Jesus

You can have all this world

Give me Jesus

Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. - (MSG)

I talked about the critical importance of paying attention to our feelings in order to know God,

One form of idolatry of the spiritual life is the worship of feelings

St. John of the Cross knew the human tendency to become attached to feelings of and about God, mistaking them for God himself. These sensations, rich or empty, are not God but only messengers from God that speak to us of him.

The “dark night” protects us from worshiping them.

The dark night of loving fire

CS LEWIS - Wrote about a theology of pain in Problems with Pain

Married Joy Davidman - cancer, wedding ceremony on the hospital bed.

He experienced pain, the stage of crisis

“But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence. You may as well turn away. The longer you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become. There are no lights in the windows. It might be an empty house. Was it ever inhabited? It seemed so once.

Peter is a prime example of how crisis can throw us off.

Pride. Denial. Abandonment. Sorrow. Healing.

Abraham trust

Peter was purpose

Takes Control of the Promise

Taught to Trust

Obedience Tested

Journeying Through The Wall

Welcome, Recap & Introduction

Last Week: Family History

Today: Journeying Through The Wall

Abraham’s Wall

The Critical Journey

The Critical Journey

The Dark Night Of The Soul

The Dark Night of the Soul

The Inward Journey is

The Wall

The Wall

Stuck At The Journey Inward?

How Do We Move Forward?

Catalyst For Movement

The Dark Night Of The Soul

Journeying Through The Wall

Welcome, Recap & Introduction

Last Week: Family History

Today: Journeying Through The Wall

Abraham’s Wall

The Critical Journey

The Critical Journey

The Dark Night Of The Soul

The Dark Night of the Soul

​

The Inward Journey is

The Wall

The Wall

Stuck At The Journey Inward?

​

​

​

​

​

​

How Do We Move Forward?

​

​

Catalyst For Movement

​

The Dark Night Of The Soul

​