Spiritual Solutions

Today I want to take a look at the true source of power. What is our true power? All of us need daily power. I talked with someone the other day and said, “How are you doing?” He responded, “Well, I’ll be all right if I can just get through the day” That’s a pretty heavy situation to be in. But in a sense, many of us feel that way, if only we have enough power to get through the day, if only we have enough power to do the things that are ours to do. We need that daily power and we need to know the source of that power.

After the resurrection, the disciples were sort of in that same situation. They’d gone to what was known as the Upper Room and they were feeling dejected, helpless and powerless; they didn’t know what to do with themselves or which way to turn. And Jesus appeared to them. He instructed them to wait in the city, to wait in Jerusalem, until the promise of the Father came.

We can find that story in the gospel of Luke, also in the book of Acts which records the activities of the apostles after the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. It says “He charged them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father.” Then a little later it says, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.”

These were tremendous words of hope that he gave to them. And we know that, after this time, we come to the experience of what has been called Pentecost. Pentecost was actually a Jewish celebration fifty days after Passover, but we remember Pentecost for different reasons. I won’t go into that at this time because I want to focus on the steps to realizing the true source of power so we can begin to apply it to our daily lives.

Jesus’ words remind me also of the Old Testament, when the prophet Isaiah was speaking to the exiles from Israel who were in Babylon. He was giving them similar words of hope. He is talking about the presence of God in our lives, and says, “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary and young men shall fall exhausted, but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” There we get a vision of new strength, new vitality, a surge of energy that comes when we tap into the true source of our power.

So God meets us where we are, bringing us blessings all the time. But we have to be open to receive those blessings. So, what is the source of true power and how do we find it in our daily living? What hinders us, what stops us from receiving God power? It’s available to us all the time as the promises say: wait for the promise that will renew you. But we don’t always experience it. And why is that? What hinders us?

There are two things really that hinder us from experiencing God’s presence. The first one is hurry, and the second one is worry; hurry and worry. We tend to do a lot of both. We think we have to hurry to get places, but the thing that falls by the wayside when we get in a hurry consciousness is our time of true prayer. That is the first thing to suffer, because we don’t give enough time to it. We might say, “I don’t have time to pray right now because I have to hurry up, I have to get somewhere, to do something.” So the prayer often gets pushed to the back.

Hurry hinders us, it begins to ease the awareness of God out of our lives and we begin to slip away from the true source of power. The power is not out there somewhere; the power is truly within us. We can only find that power if we take time to pray, to get still and open ourselves to receive it. Hurry interferes with that; and the other thing is worry.

Worry hinders us receiving God’s blessings. And how does it do that? It blocks the flow of good to us, because worry simply means that we’re not trusting God. We say we believe in God and trust in God, but then why do we worry? We all do it, we worry. Worry gets in the way of us feeling and knowing God’s presence because we’re not really trusting. We may believe in God but we’re not really trusting God.

We have to begin to really trust God, to let the hurry go and to lessen the worry. Then we can begin to receive the blessings of God’s presence.

If we would just take the time to get still and pray, the answer will come; our direction will be there for us, our way will be opened. But we must take the time, put aside the worry, and take the time to pray.

The disciples recognized the importance of prayer. It says in the scripture that they did stay in Jerusalem in the Upper Room, “and they were all there, in one accord, in prayer.” Mary, the mother of Jesus, and other women were there, and the brothers of Jesus were there. And they all prayed together.

Sometime later, at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit touched them as Jesus had promised, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”

Daily power is our greatest need and prayer is our greatest resource. Sometimes we think of the demonstration of power as a brute strength, assertiveness, and aggressiveness to get things done and to thunder through life. But that’s not true power.

True power is never noisy, it doesn’t beat the drum, it doesn’t toot its own horn, it never puts people down, and it never belittles others. True power takes decisive action and claims authority of the inner self as is necessary, but it doesn’t make a big fanfare of it. True power is always demonstrated in gentleness, but sometimes we forget that and think we have to put on the big show.

David, says in one of the psalms, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress; in him will I trust. Thou savest me from violence and thy gentleness hath made me great.”

Unfortunately, we often equate gentleness with meekness and think of it as weakness. But it’s not so, for in true gentleness and in true meekness there is strength. Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Some might say “That’s not really true, because it’s the pushy ones who inherit the earth, the ones who are aggressive and assertive and want to take over, they inherit the earth.”

Now, the translation of the Greek word “meek” really means “tame,” in relation to having tamed the powers within ourselves, having them in harness as it were, in order to move them in the right direction, to be aligned with the true power within us. That’s what the word really means; it doesn’t mean weak at all. It implies a sense of serenity, a sense of centeredness, of harnessing those powers within us.

In the French translation of that same passage, it translates to “Blessed are the debonair.” That gives us a totally different feeling, one of courtesy and charm. Put those two translations together and we can come up with a word in our contemporary society that really characterizes this attitude of being. What is that word? Cool!

“Blessed are the cool.” When you are cool, you have it all together, you don’t get upset about things, you don’t have to push your way through things; you are smooth, you are cool, you go through things easily, you project an image of gentleness and confidence and you move forward with assurance.

St. Francis de Sales says, “Nothing is as strong as gentleness, and nothing is as gentle as true strength.” It’s prayer that gets it all together, and when you get it all together you suddenly find that you have that secret power that goes before you to make your way safe, easy, and successful.

God is blessing you now, as you stay cool!

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over forty years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions.

Please feel free to publish this article in your blog or newsletter or share it with a friend, as long as you include this resource box.

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Trust and Surrender are such important elements in a unified consciousness. We tend to think of trust as something we give in response to something we get but, as spiritual teacher Jeddah Mali reminds us: “In the spiritual world it works exactly the other way around. First we extend trust and then we experience the fruits of safety.”

Many people feel that it is naïve to extend trust without a good reason or a good history to back up such a decision, that with so many violent and disturbing events on our planet, fear is a valid response. But is it? What does fear do for us? It produces an environment where we see different circumstances as a threat. If we are fearful we are putting out a strong message, and thoughts held in mind tend to produce after their kind. We draw our fears toward us and we can say with Job, “That which I feared has come upon me.” Then when we experience the very circumstances we were afraid of we often use it as a justification for being afraid in the first place. Little do we realize that we are creating it over and over again.

How often do we question the validity of our fears? When you come to think about it, you can see that all fear stems from something imagined that may happen to us in the future. We seldom have fears about anything in the past, and we rarely fear what may happen today.

Check up on your fears, find out their origin, and doubtless you will find that every one of them has some reference to the future. And therefore it is based upon an unreality, because the future is unreal; it doesn’t exist. Only the present is really important. So stop thinking so much about the future or living in it, and you will no longer be tortured with thoughts about what tomorrow might bring. If you learn to do this, you will experience a richness of life that you could never have dreamed possible. The anxieties and petty fears that now keep you upset about the future will be gone.

The future as we think about it cannot be lived ahead of time. We are in the midst of life now, so let’s live in the present knowing that those things that do not really exist, such as things in the future, cannot harm us or hurt us. As we learn to live today, we shall discover more resources in our lives than we ever thought existed.

To live a completely happy life, all of life must be lived in the present, not in the future and not in the past, which is, of course, impossible except for the mind. When we try to live in the past, our lives are often lives of regret and remorse. If we live in the future, it is usually a life of fear and worry. Only the present is truly important and if it is lived happily, joyfully, filled with peace and comfort both in mind and body, then the future is bound to be more of the same.

From the activity of the Divine Presence time comes to you one moment at a time, and it is your joyous privilege to live each moment as it comes. Into each moment comes the power that is God, poised in influence and action. Therefore, there is never a moment when you are really lacking in strength, wisdom, harmonizing love, and creative power to do all the things that need to be done by you.

There’s only one thing you cannot do – you cannot stop that central light of God shining in you. You can completely surrender to that understanding, for you have no presence outside the Divine Presence; you live in it, move in it, and have your being in it. And surrender is not giving up what we love; it’s giving up engaging in what’s holding us back, our doubts and fears and limiting thoughts. Profound trust surrenders us to our good.

There is never one moment when you are farther from the all-sufficiency of the Infinite than one prayerful thought. Remember this when you are tempted to worry about the future. I love the thought expressed by one man in his realization of the Divine flow in and through his life: “I am spiritually drenched with divinity.” Can you imagine anything that could bring you more happiness and peace of mind? Once you begin to feel the presence of the eternal in every fiber of your being, you will give up worry and dread in regard in regard to the future. You will give up trying to live in a world that is yet to come.

You have only the present at your command. Let the past remain past, and let the future come to you as it will. Possess life now and live each day as it comes, serenely, joyously, comfortably and with a deep active trust and faith in the presence and power and love of God expressed in and through and as you.

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over forty years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend. You may also reproduce and publish this article if you also include this reference box. Thank you!

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at www.alanrowbotham.com
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The words, “In God We Trust” are emblazoned on every bill of whatever denomination of dollar it might be, but do we really trust in God or do we put our trust in the dollar itself to determine how we view our life experience?

Let me share with you some insight into the early years of the Unity movement revealed in the book Letters of Myrtle Fillmore, co-founder of Unity, as she responded to letters she had received, just to show what it really means to trust in God.

“You may never have suspected it, but this Unity work is a dream that has been nurtured and built from the invisible to the concrete through love and devotion and good hard work. It may never have occurred to you that my husband and I have put ourselves into this thing which God has given us to do, year after year, without personal returns beyond our ‘daily bread’ and clothing. I work here in the Unity buildings every day, and receive a salary, just as several hundred other workers do. I think a very capable business man or woman would not consider working for that salary. But it meets my personal needs; and usually I have a little each week with which to do what my heart prompts. . . .

“I smiled as I read of the state of your finances. I think I’ll tell you a little about mine! You know I am on a salary, just as the other Unity folks are. And sometimes I have a very definite place for all my allowance, before I even begin on my own individual needs. Sometimes I am obliged to draw upon the Fillmore account in order to do something I feel to be important. Usually when I find myself “strapped,” someone who doesn’t know the facts will send me a love gift. Last week I handed out just about all I could get my hands on and was looking for more, because I had places for it. This morning a letter came from a woman to whom I have written a few times, but whom I haven’t seen, in which there was a check for me for two hundred dollars. No particular apparent reason for her sending it; but evidently she and the Lord were aware of my use of money and replenished my purse in that happy way. So the money I had sent forth came back multiplied; I can replace the amount I drew out and still have plenty of “pin money” left.”

It is evident that Myrtle and her husband, Charles, had deep roots in the spiritual principles of faith and trust. What about you? Your faith and trust determine what your world is as far as you are concerned; whether you will make the most of circumstances and release the most of your potential. Without deep roots we merely exist; our lives are shallow. Unless deeply rooted in spiritual principles, we do not and cannot develop into individuals of stature and worth, such as we are intended to be.

George Elliot once said that no human being can live a whole and wholesome life unless rooted to some particular spot in the soil. The spot of soil we allude to also means for us a working philosophy, an orientation of spiritual principles without which we lead superficial lives with only surface roots; and the winds of worldly experience easily bowl us over.

There are two aspects to every strong life, rootage and fruitage, receptivity and activity, relaxation and tension, leaning back and moving forward. But he or she who cannot do one cannot do the other very well. He or she who is unable to rest cannot work effectively either. He or she who cannot let go cannot hold on very firmly. He or she who cannot find footing cannot progress. If one cannot let go, one has nothing substantial to rest on; one hasn’t grown dependable roots and doesn’t know how to surrender, to “let go and let God,” letting go of imaginary boundaries and allowing a greater flow of God’s good. This ability to “let go and let God” creates greater clarity of all that is already ours and who we really are in Truth.

With strong roots you can withstand any wind; and this is what we are urging – building an awareness of your inner resources, an awareness of your divine son-ship, the Christ in you.

Faith and trust go hand in hand; they are not “blind” but are deeply rooted in a conscious awareness of the activity of God within. With trust we become open to all the possibilities available to us in any particular moment and we have a willingness to take the steps needed to change our current life experience. Not only that, but we have the courage to move beyond what we previously thought was possible and we develop a sense of certainty that everything will work out fine even though we may not have proof at this time. Just as Myrtle Fillmore found, we are provided for from within; and this consciousness brings a profound feeling of safety and security even in the midst of adverse circumstances.

I firmly believe that when we accept the idea that we are plenteously provided for from within, and also act as if this were true, something happens . . . the taproot begins to grow, so to speak, and the entire experience begins to unfold. In that consciousness we never know lack, we never feel insecurity, we are never helpless. We are rather like the one described by the Psalmist, “He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” (Ps. 1:3)

Remember, God is Blessing You Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-nine years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend. You may also reproduce and publish this article if you also include this reference box. Thank you!

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at www.alanrowbotham.com
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In Psalm 37, three times we read “Fret not yourself . . .” followed by the admonitions to “Trust in the Lord . . . ,” to “Take delight in the Lord,” to “Commit your way to the Lord,” and to “Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him” and the positive results of so doing.

Yet how often do we find ourselves fretting about the future, fretting over our loved ones, our work, our health, our prosperity or lack of it. Many people are fretting about politics, about the trend of government, the problem of our cities, the protests of our young people. Certainly we should be concerned, and we should exercise the options available to us to participate in the democratic process of change. But fretting about conditions never helps anyone.

To “Trust in the Lord,” “Take delight in the Lord,” “Commit your way to the Lord,” and to “Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him,” means that we have to learn the cultivate the art of letting go. And most of us know this takes some doing when we are faced with certain conditions in our life. 

For myself, when asked about my wife, Kathryn, being recently in hospital and now in a rehab center, and then asking how I’m doing in all of this, I find myself saying all too often, “I’m hanging in there,” or “I’m holding on.” Most of the problems we fret about are bound to us by the hold we have on them. We have to let go and let God, or “trust in the Lord.” There is an answer to every problem and a right guidance for every turning of the way – and it exists within me even while I am facing the need.

Every person must determine for himself or herself whether he or she is going to go through life fretting over the challenges that come through change, or whether he or she is going to let the activity of the whole Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit) express through him or her. Letting go is a fine art, and like all fine arts it is achieved only through the discipline of practice. Fear tends to hold on, but faith lets go. Practice faith. Human love holds on, but Divine love lets go. Practice Divine love.

I love the ancient Taoist story about the old man and his son. Whenever you find yourself fretting over what the future holds for you, you might want to remind yourself of the story. It goes something like this:

There was once a farmer. He was a gentle and humble man. His wife had died a few years before, and he and his son lived near the border region in China. One day their horse ran away; they were dependent upon the horse. The neighbors came to console the man for the loss of his horse. He answered them, “Who knows what the future brings?”

Several months later their mare returned with a wild stallion. Everyone at the village marveled at the magnificent stallion and congratulated the man on his good fortune, saying, “You are wealthy now.” He answered them, “Who knows what the future brings?”

One day the son mounted the wild stallion but, not knowing the ways of the stallion, within a hundred meters he fell off the stallion and broke his leg. The leg healed but the boy limped. The villagers went to console the man. “What a terrible misfortune,” they said. “Now your only son is a cripple. Your living will be limited and, worse still, how will your son be able to care for you in your old age?” The simple man answered his neighbors, “Who knows what the future brings?”

“He’s a simpleton,” the neighbors said of the man.

A year later, a tribe from across the border was preparing for war. The army arrived in their village and every young man was drafted except the lame boy. He was of no use to the army. He stayed home.

It was a dreadful battle, and only a few of the boys drafted returned alive. The lame boy cared for is father until his father’s death.

“Who knows what the future brings”

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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 Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-eight years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions.

Please feel free to publish this article in your blog or newsletter or share it with a friend, as long as you include this resource box.

If you’d like to receive weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words.

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When Samuel when he was very young and was in training with the priest Eli, the scriptures tell us that Samuel was asleep and he heard a voice calling him, “Samuel, Samuel!” He rose up and said, “Here I am, Lord.” He went to his teacher, his priest Eli, and said, “You called me?” Eli said, “No, I didn’t call you. Go lie down, go to sleep.”

So Samuel went back and lay down again. The voice came again, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel got up again and went to Eli, saying, “Here I am. You called me.” Eli said, “No, I didn’t call you. Go and lie down.”

So Samuel went back and lay down again, and the voice came again, “Samuel!” He jumped up again and went to Eli. This time Eli perceived that the Lord was calling Samuel, the voice of God was speaking to him. So he said, “I want you to go back and lie down, and if that call comes again, just say this: ‘Your servant hears. Speak, Lord.”

So Samuel went back, lay down, and the voice came again, “Samuel, Samuel!” He said, “Your servant hears, Lord. Speak.” And God showed him a vision of what his future was to be at that time.

When the prophet Isaiah was young, he had a vision and he heard a voice saying “Whom shall we send? Who will go for us?” And a voice within Isaiah prompted him and he said, “Here I am, send me!”

In other words, “Count me in, God, count me in!”

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In the tenth letter, Brother Lawrence is apparently responding in regard to someone who has lost a loved one or friend; then in the eleventh letter he is seeking to console someone who is ill or in pain and to have the person accept and embrace the condition rather than resist it.

Some of the language is old-fashioned and very traditional, but in both letters he is seeking to draw the correspondents back to principle, to focus first and foremost on God’s presence rather than on the condition they are experiencing.

In the succeeding letters, Brother Lawrence empathizes with his correspondent and seeks to emphasize the importance of giving oneself completely into God’s loving care and keeping, notwithstanding suffering of any kind, and to pray for courage, humility, and love.

He then declares: “Let us seek after Him often by faith. He is within us; seek Him not elsewhere. . . . Let us begin to be devoted to Him in good earnest. Let us cast everything besides out of our hearts.”

TWELFTH LETTER

If we were well accustomed to the exercise of the presence of God, all bodily diseases would be much alleviated thereby. God often permits that we should suffer a little to purify our souls and oblige us to continue with Him.

Take courage; offer Him your pains incessantly; pray to Him for strength to endure them. Above all, get a habit of entertaining yourself often with God, and forget Him the least you can.

Adore Him in your infirmities, offer yourself to Him from time to time, and in the height of your sufferings beseech Him humbly and affectionately (as a child his father) to make you conformable to His holy will. I shall endeavor to assist you with my poor prayers.

God has many ways of drawing us to Himself. He sometimes hides Himself from us; but faith alone, which will not fail us in time of need, ought to be our support, and the foundation of our confidence, which must be all in God.

I know not how God will dispose of me. I am always happy. All the world suffer; and I, who deserve the severest discipline, feel joys so continual and so great that I can scarce contain them.

I would willingly ask of God a part of your sufferings, but that I know my weakness, which is so great that if He left me one moment to myself I should be the most wretched man alive. And yet I know not how He can leave me alone, because faith gives me as strong a conviction as sense can do that He never forsakes us until we have first forsaken Him. Let us fear to leave Him Let us always be with Him. Let us live and die in His presence. Do you pray for me as I for you.

I am,

Yours, etc.

THIRTEENTH LETTER (To the Same)

I am in pain to see you suffer so long. What gives me some ease and sweetens the feelings I have for your griefs is that they are proofs of God’s love toward you. See them in that view and you will bear them more easily.

As your case is, it is my opinion that you should leave off human remedies, and resign yourself entirely to the providence of God. Perhaps He stays only for that resignation and a perfect trust in Him to cure you. Since, notwithstanding all your cares, physic has hitherto proved unsuccessful, and your malady still increases, it will not be tempting God to abandon yourself in His hands and expect all from Him.

I told you in my last that He sometimes permits bodily diseases to cure the distempers of the soul. Have courage, then; make a virtue of necessity. Ask of God, not deliverance from your pains, but strength to bear resolutely, for the love of Him, all that He should please, and as long as He shall please.

Such prayers, indeed, are a little hard to nature, but most acceptable to God, and sweet t those that love Him. Love sweetens pains; and when one loves God, one suffers for His sake with joy and courage.

Do you so, I beseech you; comfort yourself with Him, who is the only Physician of all our maladies. He is the Father of the afflicted, always ready to help us. He loves us infinitely, more than we imagine. Love Him, then, and seek no consolation elsewhere. I hope you will soon receive it. Adieu. I will help you with my prayers, poor as they are, and shall always be, in our Lord,

Yours, etc.

FOURTEENTH LETTER (To the Same)

I render thanks to our Lord for having relieved you a little, according to your desire. I have been often near expiring, but I never was so much satisfied as then. Accordingly, I did not pray for any relief, but I prayed for strength to suffer with courage, humility, and love.

Ah, how sweet it is to suffer with God! However great the sufferings may be, receive them with love. It is paradise to suffer and be with Him; so that if in this life we would enjoy the peace of paradise we must accustom ourselves to a familiar, humble, affectionate conversation with Him.

We must hinder our spirits’ wandering from Him upon any occasion. We must make our heart a spiritual temple, wherein to adore Him incessantly. We must watch continually over ourselves, that we may not do nor say nor think anything that may displease Him. When our minds are thus employed about God, suffering will become full of unction and consolation.

I know that to arrive at this state the beginning is very difficult, for we must act purely in faith. But though it is difficult, we know also that we can do all things with the grace of God, which He never refuses to them who ask it earnestly. Knock, persevere in knocking, and I answer for it that He will open to you in His due time, and grant you all at once what He has deferred during many years. Adieu. Pray to Him for me as I pray to Him for you. I hope to see Him quickly.

                                                                                                I am,

Yours, etc.

FIFTEENTH LETTER (To the Same)

God knoweth best what is needful for us, and all that He does is for our good. If we knew how much He loves us, we should always be ready to receive equally and with indifference from His hand the sweet and the bitter. All would please that came from Him.

The sorest afflictions never appear intolerable, except when we see them in the wrong light. When we see them as dispensed by the hand of God, when we know that it is our loving Father who abases and distresses us, our sufferings will lose their bitterness and become even matter of consolation.

Let all our employment be to know God; the more one knows Him, the more one desires to know Him. And as knowledge is commonly the measure of love, the deeper and more extensive our knowledge shall be, the greater will be our love; and if our love of God were great, we should love Him equally in pains and pleasures.

Let us not content ourselves with loving God for the mere sensible favors, how elevated soever, which He has done or may do us. Such favors, though never so great, cannot bring us so near to Him as faith does in one simple act. Let us seek Him often by faith. He is within us; seek Him not elsewhere.

If we do love Him alone, are we not rude, and do we not deserve blame, if we busy ourselves about trifles which do not please and perhaps offend Him? It is to be feared these trifles will one day cost us dear.

Let us begin to be devoted to Him in good earnest. Let us cast everything besides out of our hearts. He would possess them alone. Beg this favor of Him. If we do what we can on our parts, we shall soon see that change wrought in us which we aspire after. I cannot thank Him sufficiently for the relaxation He has vouchsafed you. I hope from His mercy the favor to see Him within a few days. Let us pray for one another.

                                                                                    I am, in our Lord,

Yours, etc.

(Note: He took to his bed two days after this writing, and died within the week.)

I hope you have received good value and insights from this classic spiritual book.

God is Blessing You Right Now!

The Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-six years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions or go directly to the Spiritual Solutions Blog

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In the Second Conversation of Brother Lawrence, we learned that he had always been governed by love and had resolved to make the love of God the end of all his actions. For the first four years in the religious life, he had been troubled in mind and expected the worst for his life, and initially it took a great deal of diligence to form the habit of conversing with God continually.

He found that in speaking to God plainly of his shortcomings, with the confidence that God would give him the strength to overcome them, he could release any concern he may have had. He realized that negative thoughts needed to be rejected as soon as they were perceived, and that his only business was to love and delight in God, and recommended that approach for all of us.

Now we turn to the THIRD CONVERSATION:

He told me that the foundaton of the spliritual life in him had been a high notion and esteem of God in faith; which when he had once well conceived, he had no other care at first but faithfully to reject every other thought, that he might perform all his actions for the love of God. That when sometimes he had not thought of God for a good while, he did not disquiet himself for it; but, after having acknowledged his wretchedness to God, he returned to Him with so much the greater trust in Him as he had found himself wretched through forgetting Him.

That the trust we put in God honors Him much and draws down great graces.

That it ws impossible not only that God should deceive, but also that He should long let a soul suffer which is perfectly resigned to Him, and resolved to endure everything for His sake.

That he had so often experienced the ready succours of divine grace upon all occasions, that from the same experience, when he had busines to do, he did not think of it beforehand; but when it was time to do it, he found in God, as in a clear mirror, all that was fit for him to do. That of late he had acted thus, without anticipatinng care; but before the experience above mentioned, he had used it in his affairs.

When outward business diverted him a little from the thought of God, a fresh remembrance coming from God invested his soul, and so inflamed and transported him that it was difficult for him to contain himself.

That he was more united to God in his outward employments than when he left them for devotion and retirement.

That he expected hereafter some great pain of body or mind; that the worst that could happen to him was to lose that sense of God which he had enjoyed so long; but that the goodness of God assured him He would not forsake him utterly, and that He would give him strength to bear whatever evil He permitted to happen to him; and therefore that he feared nothing, and had no occasion to consult with anybody about his state. That when he attempted to do it, he had always come away more perplexed; and that as he was conscious of his readiness to lay down his life for the love of God, he had no apprehension of danger. That perfect resignation to God was a sure way to heaven, a way in which we had always sufficient light for our conduct.

That in the beginning of the spiritual life we ought to be faithful in doing our duty and denying ourselves; but after that, unspeakable pleasures followed. That in difficulties we need only have recourse to Jesus Christ, and beg His grace; with that everything became easy. 

That many do not advance in the Christian progress because they stick in penances and particular exercises, while they neglect the love of God, which is the end. That this appeared plainly by their works, and was the reason why we see so little solid virtue.

That there need neither art nor science for going to God, but only a heart resolutely determined to apply itself to nothing but Him, or for His sake, and to love Him only.

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