He says, "If we were dead to self, and if our lives were hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3), we would no longer notice those pains in spirit that now afflict us. We would not only bear bodily sufferings with equanimity, but spiritual affliction also."
oooooo...but we love to bargain with God, don't we? At a minimum, we want to impose limits...we want to see the end of our sufferings.
Fenelon explains, "That same obstinate and hidden hold onto our own life is what renders the cross necessary. It also causes us to reject the cross in part. And through our secret resistance, we impair the virtue of the cross assigned to us. As a result, we have to go over the same ground again and again. We suffer greatly, but to very little purpose."
"Lord, deliver us from falling into that state of soul in which crosses are of no benefit to us!"
Man, I don't know about you, but I'm worn out from covering the same ground over and over again! Seems like this last year I've been living one of those dreams where you walk and walk and walk, but don't get anywhere.
I have been trying to just put one foot in front of the other this past year. Not a lot of thinking involved...too worn out and beat up. But, I guess that's the way it is...it takes you getting on the other side of it all, the fog has to lift, so you are then able to reflect, look back and then learn. So, perhaps 2012 is the year of learning.
I can feel I'm getting there. The mere fact that I'm writing these blogs proves I can at least form a coherent sentence on the subject. So, I guess I'm getting to where I can look back and reflect, which means it's starting to get behind me. Now, I'm not sure that means the hard times are behind me or I've spiritually moved forward. Hmmm....I think another blog is required on that subject.
Quotes from Let Go, by Francois Fenelon
