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The Distracted Christian, with Nate Labadorf

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Episode Summary

If your prayer life has gone quiet — no feelings, no fire, no sense of God’s presence — this episode is for you. We wrap up Book 1 of The Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross and explore why God strips away spiritual consolations, what he’s actually doing when he does it, and how Scripture tells this same story from Genesis to the Psalms.

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What We Cover

The Dark Night of Sense — What It Is God removes the sweetness of prayer not as punishment, but as weaning. The soul moves from milk to bread, from noisy grace to quiet union.

The Gifts Hidden in Dryness

• Self-knowledge — We finally see our weakness and poverty before God
• Reverence — We stop rushing toward God and learn to approach him barefoot, like Moses
• Humility — We stop comparing ourselves to others and judging
• Charity & Obedience — Weakness makes us teachable
• Freedom from spiritual capital sins — Spiritual avarice, gluttony, wrath, envy, and sloth all get quietly treated in the night
• Infused contemplation — God pours himself in when our senses finally go quiet

What Scripture Says About the Night John leans heavily on the Bible. We trace the same pattern across:

• Genesis 21:8 — Abraham’s feast at Isaac’s weaning
• Exodus 3:5 — Moses and the burning bush (“take off your sandals”)
• Exodus 33:5 — Israel removing its ornaments
• The Book of Job — God speaks most deeply from the ash heap
• Isaiah 28:9 — God teaches those who are weaned
• Isaiah 58:10 — Light rises in the darkness
• Habakkuk 2:1 — Standing at the watch post, still and alert
• Psalm 63 — Seeing God in a dry and waterless land
• Psalm 51:17 — A broken and contrite heart is the sacrifice God wants

Three Practical Steps for This Week

1. Stay put in prayer, even when it’s dry — Keep your prayer time. Tell God, “I’m here for you, not for the feelings.” Stand like Habakkuk. Don’t force the emotions.
2. Accept the working clothes — Do small, hidden, uncelebrated things. Let someone else have the last word. Serve without posting it. Strip the festal garments.
3. Practice a nightly examen — Ask two questions before bed: Where did I discover my poverty today? Where did I glimpse God’s grace? Look at both — misery alone leads to despair; glory alone leads to pride.

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Key Quote from St. John of the Cross

“God values the soul’s sadness at not serving him well more than all the great works it did when consolations were full — because now it is humble, broken, and honest.”

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References & Resources

• The Dark Night of the Soul, St. John of the Cross — Book 1 (The Dark Night of Sense)
• Show notes, reflections & extras: FreshGroundTheology.com

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