The truly humble soul does not trust in himself, but in God. Placing all confidence in the Father’s hands, he finds peace even in life’s fiercest storms. In this timeless reflection, Thomas à Kempis shows how to surrender daily to God’s will and live the prayer: “Thy will be done.”
True Humility before the Will of God
The circumstances and conditions of this earthly life are incessantly changing and fluctuating. Truly has it been said that nothing here remains the same. And these changes come about either through our own selves or through others or through nature itself. Yet amidst all this change and variation, this fluctuation and fluidity, we should constantly recognize the will of God unfolding itself according to some mysterious and unseen divine plan. And we should humbly pray to the Lord that whatever He wishes should come about, saying to Him sincerely, “Thy will be done,” and trusting absolutely that it will ultimately assist in our own salvation and lead us to final peace and happiness.
Just as clay is molded and fashioned in the hands of the sculptor, so are we all being formed and shaped by the hands of God. The fact that God even deigns to work on us and to fashion us is itself a stupendous mark of honor and love, even when the process of being molded may be difficult to understand or unpleasant to accept. And whether God chooses to form us into some large and much-admired work of art or He makes of us something small and humble, we should not be particularly concerned or worried. For even if we seem to be the least amongst our brothers and sisters, we are still equally the work of God’s loving hands. We are no less esteemed by the only One whose esteem truly matters!
And we should trust and have confidence that God holds us all in special dignity and particular and unique value before Himself. For He is a loving Father to each of us, whatever we happen to be or possess, through nature or through grace. We should, therefore, not concern ourselves greatly over differences in external merits or talents, or the apparent importance of the particular roles which we (or others) are called to perform. Indeed, we should neither feel discouraged nor dejected, nor elated and self-important. Nor should we never look down upon others who seem to be less important or virtuous than ourselves, nor should we envy others who seem greater and more gifted than we are.
Whatever the role or station in life you happen to find yourself, you may still engage fully in the most important and highest work which any human being may possibly do—which is contemplating God in love and serving Him in prayer, devotion, and charity. Whoever you are and whatever is your situation in life, we can all find some moments of solitude in which to devote ourselves to this exalted and noble calling of divine contemplation. This is the highest work of even the seraphim themselves! It is a holy vocation which is universal, and yet also most profoundly personal for each of us.
In Moments of Peace and Tranquility, It Is Useful to Remember Times of Stress and Struggle
Whenever you are enjoying some time of peace and rest, it is useful to call to mind those times when you have been busy, overworked, or stressed. Whenever you are enjoying the calmness of solitude and silence, it is useful to reflect on those occasions when you have been assaulted with noise and activity. Indeed, calling such things to mind is a sure and effective way of learning to love and value the peaceful tranquility of your times of solitude!
If you reflect upon how easily you can become anxious or worried, or how little it takes to perturb your soul, you will also realize that the achievement of true inner peace is not something which human efforts can ever achieve on their own. Left to yourself, how often you have fallen prey to anxiety, even when there is little or no real need to worry! How often, even when you are surrounded by exterior silence, your mind is still filled with the clamor of unruly and agitated thoughts and disturbed by your own worries!
Since this is an undeniable characteristic of our fragile human nature, to experience both exterior solitude and interior peace can only be a gift from God. And God generously gives such moments to all, as long as they do not resist Him or refuse His gift. It is at such times that you should turn yourself to divine contemplation. And to the soul which enters into such contemplation, all earthly worries, desires, and distractions will soon seem to be as nothing!
But the person who refuses to give himself over to solitude and occasional inactivity but compels himself instead to be constantly busy or constantly interacting with others, refuses and resists this great gift of God. And it is, alas, a very rare thing for such a compulsively busy person to come to know the delights of contemplation.
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This article is taken from a chapter in Solitude and Silence by Thomas a Kempis which is available from TAN Books.
