Taking it Back
When the going gets tough, take a deep breath and hold on.
When God bestows Spiritual comfort, receive it with a grateful heart; but remember that it comes of God's free gift, and not of your own merit. Do not be proud, nor over joyful, nor foolishly presumptuous; rather, be the more humble for this gift, more cautious, and more prudent in all your doings, for this hour will pass, and temptation will follow it. When comfort is withdrawn, do not immediately despair, but humbly and patiently await the will of Heaven; for God is able to restore you to a consolation even richer than before. This is nothing new or strange to those who know the ways of God, for the great Saints and Prophets of old often experienced these changes. ...Indeed, the temptation that precedes is often a sign of comfort to follow. For heavenly comfort is promised to those who have been tried and tempted."To him who overcomes," says God, "I will give to eat of the Tree of Life." - Thomas A Kempis "The Imitation of Christ"
On this day in 1471, Thomas Hammerken of Kempen (Thomas A Kempis) died at the age of 90.
He is remembered for his manual of spiritual advice from which we have today's extract on humility and patience.
When things start to go wrong, we don't always deal with them well. We tend to get depressed or disappointed. Sometimes we may feel betrayed.
These are temptations, pulling us away from God and His purpose for us.
Thomas seeks to remind us that Jesus taught us to have faith. We need to wait on that faith for God's will, which will come to us, if we don't turn away from Him.
That's the hard part, isn't it? When change comes and causes us to stumble or fall, we immediately think of ourselves, not God. But if we wait. If we hold out a bit longer, God's help may come to us in ways we do not expect.
The Holy Spirit is always with us. He knows our challenges and offers help if we are willing to listen and be patient.
It is easy to give in to the temptation to get angry, and when we do, we often say or do something we may later regret.
Once it is done, we don't always have the chance to take it back.
With God, though, we can always take it back. He wants us to return and try again. And in doing so, He will reward us with the wisdom we need to overcome.
More to come...