God creates the pullback too, “hiding his face” as it was called by so many mystics and Scriptures. God creates a vacuum that God alone can fill. Then God waits to see if we will trust our God partner to eventually fill the space in us, which now has grown even more spacious and receptive. This is the central theme of darkness, necessary doubt, or what the mystics called “God withdrawing his love.” They knew that what feels like suffering, depression, uselessness—moments when God has withdrawn—these moments are often deep acts of trust and invitation to intimacy on God’s part.
