Night Seasons are Times for Decompression

“I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.” (Ps 16:7 AV)

Note the dual nature of night season ministry.  There is the LORD who counsels.  But there is also the reigns of the writer that also instruct him.  The Hebrew word for reins means the seat of emotion.  The word literally means the kidney.  Other times, the bowels are mentioned as the seat of emotion.  Perhaps our need to evacuate when we feel intense emotion is why our ancients used internal organs as a means to describe emotions.  At any rate, what we see here is a time when the counsels of God and the emotions which we bury are examined one against the other so that we can learn and grow.  Note also that both the counsels of the LORD and the feelings of the writer are instructive.  Emotions are a part of what we are.  They reveal more truth than we might at first consider.  We know the Bible teaches the heart is deceitful above all things.  We know that feelings or emotions are not a good barometer of truth.  However, emotions are a watershed of truth as to who we are and how we process our lives. 

Years ago, I was given the opportunity to train as a PTSD counselor.  I served as a volunteer chaplain at a local hospital.  The staff chaplain was a general in the US Army Reserves.  As such, he had experience in this area.  We were asked if any had experienced something traumatic which might fall under the consideration of PTSD counseling.  I shared I had tragically lost a brother, seen someone take their own life, and was a victim of armed robbery.  He had asked how I dealt with it.  First and foremost, enjoying the indwelling of the Holy Spirit sure helped a lot.  If it were not for Him, I wouldn’t have survived.  Secondly, talking out one’s emotional experience brought on by these events was key.  It was important not to bottle it up inside.  Processing the emotional shock which these events cause is extremely important.  As a pastor, we deal with many intense circumstances of life.  It is in the job description.  From marriages breaking up to terminal prognosis, to death, and life, we are faced with many overwhelming situations.  We are expected to be the voice of calm assurance and faith.  We are asked to hold it together while others lose it.  When we are finished with these opportunities, there must be time for decompression.  Otherwise, the man of God will burn out.  This is where the night seasons come in.

We have to learn how to deal with the varied emotions which we experience daily.  How we feel about something may not accurately reflect the reality of the situation, but the feelings are real.  These night seasons are the quiet time of day when all else is removed and we are faced with our hearts.  Our reins are free to flow as they will.  Like the rein of a horse that is tied to a post, as long as there are other considerations at hand, they remain tied to that post.  They are not free.  Once the reins are freed, they flow and snap in the wind.  The counsels of the LORD takes the reins and steers them into what the rider wants the horse to see or where he wants it to go.  Those reins are not a figment of our imagination.  They are not immaterial.  In large part, they determine the direction of our choices.  They give the motivation to choose one thing over another.  How we feel is important.  But how we feel must be married to the counsels of God lest we head down the wrong path.

We may not appreciate the night seasons.  This is often when anxiety, fear, stress, anger, lust, or all sorts of emotions come out.  There is nothing there to compete with the attention of the mind.  They flow freely.  Some do not like the night seasons for that very reason.  Now that life has come to a quiet repose, they are faced with the ugliness that has been stored inside.  Like we were taught in PTSD, the only way to get past the wall is to confront those emotions, express those emotions, then define those emotions into the will of God.  Sitting on them will only cause more harm.  The night seasons are a time to reflect.  A time to reflect on who we are and why we are what we are.  The night seasons are a time when we can listen to the heart is it is examined and shaped by God’s counsels so that both can instruct us into what God wants us to be.