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  ABANDONMENT NOT A HEROIC SACRIFICE, BUT A SIMPLE SINKING INTO THE WILL OF GOD.
  by Francois Fenelon
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Summary: True abandonment to God is not a heroic sacrifice, but a simple
surrender to His will, resulting in peace and strength.

Topics: "Surrender To God", "Trusting Providence"
Scripture References: Psalm 131:2, Proverbs 3:5, Matthew 18:3, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Philippians 4:7

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DESCRIPTION
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Francois Fenelon preaches that true abandonment to God is not about
making heroic sacrifices or grand gestures, but rather a simple
surrender to the will of God, accepting our weaknesses and infirmities
with humility. He emphasizes that our strength lies in God when we
acknowledge our own weaknesses, and true abandonment is like a child
resting in the love of its mother. Complete abandonment even involves
letting go of the need to control our surrender, finding peace in fully
trusting God's providence.

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CONTENT
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LETTER XXXIV.

Abandonment not a heroic sacrifice, but a simple sinking into the will
of God.

Your sole task, my dear daughter, is, to bear your infirmities both of
body and mind. When I am weak, says the Apostle, then am I strong;
strength is made perfect in weakness. We are only strong in God in
proportion as we are weak in ourselves; your feebleness will be your
strength if you accept it in all lowliness.

We are tempted to believe that weakness and lowliness are incompatible
with abandonment, because this latter is represented as a generous act
of the soul by which it testifies its great love, and makes the most
heroic sacrifices. But a true abandonment does not at all correspond to
this flattering description; it is a simple resting in the love of God,
as an infant lies in its mother's arms. A perfect abandonment must even
go so far as to abandon its abandonment. We renounce ourselves without
knowing it; if we knew it, it would no longer be complete, for there can
be no greater support than a consciousness that we are wholly given up.

Abandonment consist, not in doing great things for self to take delight
in, but simply in suffering our weakness and infirmity, in letting
everything alone. It is peaceful, for it would no longer be sincere, if
we were still restless about anything we had renounced. It is thus that
abandonment is the source of true peace; if we have not peace, it is
because our abandonment is exceedingly imperfect.

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/francois-fenelon/abandonment-not-a-heroic-sacrifice-but-a-simple-sinking-into-the-will-of-god/
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