Dark Night of the Soul: A Term Paper

How do you train a soul?

9. What did you learn about the nature of spiritual disciplines and the training of the soul?

Martial arts saved my life. I had been a fourteen-year-old girl who locked herself away in her room and played video games - a way to deal with a hostile home environment and overwhelming panic attacks. I was always angry and in pain, I felt weak and out of control. My emotions led me to dark thoughts and uncomfortable situations.

When my friend invited me to a karate academy at her church, I saw it as an opportunity to get away from my house more. I took the offer and joined, feeling uncomfortable in my own skin as I walked in. But as I went in each week, pushing myself harder and harder beyond my limits, I was forced to train my mind and body in ways it had never been trained before. My teachers were people in law enforcement and fire fighting, who saw the darkest parts of humanity and brought with them wisdom and perspective. I still remember their care for my spirit even twenty years later.

They taught me the value of training. The value of pushing yourself beyond your limits to become more than you are.

Training in the Spirit of God is much the same. Just as I have to train a roundhouse kick to perfection, I also have to train my anger to be submitted to God. 1 Timothy 4:8 says, "Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come." My roundhouse is excellent, but it won't do me much good in the next life. But I can take the same mindset for training my roundhouse kick and apply it to my spiritual life, something that will affect me in this life and the next.

Martial arts has a pretty understandable rule: do as you're commanded to the best of your abilities, even if you don't like it. Training is not always enjoyable. It's painful and frustrating, and sometimes we just want it to be done with. Spiritual training is a little more complicated, however. Yes, we are to obey the commands of God in the same way - regardless of feelings - however, we have to be willing to allow our hearts to open in the process. The heart cannot be transformed if it is only following commands out of duty. On the flip side, to follow commands with only the heart makes us flaky. If we only follow the commands of God when we feel like it or when it feels "spiritual" leaves us open to overlook the unpleasant commandments... which are usually the most important.

Only when the will and the heart are combined can the Holy Spirit transform our character into something strong and long-lasting.

Ephesians 5:18 says, "Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit..." It's important to point out that this is a passive statement. It doesn't say, "fill yourself with the Spirit" but instead, "be filled." This means that the Spirit is doing it to you. That doesn't mean that you are completely passive, however. We still have to follow the command to be filled with the spirit.

There are three parts to training in the Spirit:

Spiritual Intentions (trying) - This is training your will to respond to God.

Spiritual rhythm - This is character training. What rhythms will you need to maintain a relationship with God? Going to church? Reading the Bible? Prayer?

Spiritual regiments - This is the intense, focused training of your character

Training is not meant to be an easy process. It's also not meant to be an overnight process. It is a lifetime of building habits and a mindset that turns towards the Spirit, ready for instruction and guidance. The heart needs to be open and vulnerable, and yet, disciplined enough to follow the commands of the King, regardless of how painful it turns out to be. 2 Timothy 2:3-4 says, "Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus."

Although it is not easy to train, it is necessary. Just as discipline is required to flourish in this life, spiritual discipline is required to flourish in both this life and the next.

But this training is not just for our own benefit. This training is for the benefit of the souls around us, the ones who have yet to meet God in all His glory; those who have no purpose in their suffering.

Our training is not meant to just save ourselves. It's meant to give the word of God to others so that they too can be saved.