John of the Cross in the sixteenth-century coined the phrase “dark night of the soul” to describe his crisis of faith precipitated by feelings of God’s absence. The soul’s dark night can be intermittent or prolonged. In the case of Gerhard Tersteegen (1697-1769), it lasted five years.
Gerhard worked as an apprentice for a successful merchant in Germany. He quit his job and moved to the country to seek after God. Initially, it did not go well. He had no real sense of God and became spiritually depressed. Divisions among Christians and the prosperity of evil people distressed him. Feelings of unworthiness led to his self-imposed exile from worship and the Lord’s Supper.
One morning, while on a journey to a nearby town and meditating on Scripture, his mood lifted. New appreciation for the redeeming work of Christ punctured a hole in his darkness and nourished him in peace. The transformation was immediate and long-lasting. He became an itinerant preacher. People flocked to his home for spiritual guidance, prompting his move into larger quarters to accommodate the crowds. He wrote poems and hymns expressing his new-found gratitude. One such hymn, “The Hidden Love of God,” reflected on his five-year bout with spiritual depression. God’s absence is not a real absence, but a seeming absence, as Gerhard came to discover. Even in dark times, God remains faithful.
One of his prayers leads us to find our rest and strength in God: