Spiritual Confusion

Interior Trials: Part IV

Spiritual confusion occurs when we get preoccupied with our sins. The truth becomes clouded and we don’t know what to believe anymore about God, about ourselves, about other people, or about the church. Our faculties of reason, understanding, and intellect begin to fail us. Then, says Teresa, our “imagination becomes our master”: Chaotic thinking rules our day and nonsense rules our night. We become spiritually vulnerable and then the devil intensifies his attack. We tell the truth, but we feel like we’re lying because we overlooked some extraneous detail. We turn to spiritual guides but that doesn’t help. We assume the devil is deceiving them as well. Our interior trial becomes torment.

*Based on material from The Interior Castle: Sixth Mansions: Chapter One (Teresa of Avila).

About Dave Small

Jesus Follower, Blogger, Public Speaker. Teresaofavilaturns500.wordpress.com

‹ Preoccupied With Our Sins

Dark Night of the Soul ›

Tagged with: 500, Christian formation, Christian Mysticism, Christianity, Dave Small, Dave_Small, Devil, Faculties, Intellect, Interior Castle, Reason, Self-knowledge, Sin, Sixth Dwelling Places, Sixth Mansions, Sixth Mansions of the Interior Castle, Spain, Spiritual Direction, Spiritual Director, spiritual formation, Spiritual Guidance, Teresa of Avila, Teresa of Avila Turns 500, The Devil, Theresa of Avila Turns 500, Understanding
Posted in 6th Mansions - Chapter 1, Spiritual Warfare