Quietness in God Our True Resource.
True success and peace come from perfect abandonment before God, resting in His light and being content with His success.
Francois Fenelon preaches about finding true peace and success through quietness in God, emphasizing the importance of complete surrender and reliance on God's light and guidance. He contrasts the fruitlessness of relying on human abilities like imagination, feelings, and reasoning with the power of speaking from a place of rest in God. Fenelon encourages acceptance of human weaknesses and the imperfections of the world, urging listeners to focus on fulfilling their own responsibilities quietly and gently while trusting God's sovereignty.
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LETTER XVII.
Quietness in God our true resource.
Warmth of imagination, ardor of feeling, acuteness of reasoning, and fluency of expression, can do but little. The true agent is a perfect abandonment before God, in which we do everything by the light which He gives, and are content with the success which He bestows. This continual death is a blessed life known to few. A single word, uttered from this rest, will do more, even in outward affairs, than all our most eager and officious care. It is the Spirit of God that then speaks the word, and it loses none of its force and authority, but enlightens, persuades, moves, and edifies. We have accomplished everything, and have scarce said anything.
On the other hand, if left to the excitability of our natural temperament, we talk forever, indulging in a thousand subtle and superfluous reflections; we are constantly afraid of not saying or doing enough; we get angry, excited, exhausted, distracted, and finally make no headway. Your disposition has an especial need of these maxims; they are as necessary for your body as your soul, and your physician, and your spiritual adviser should act together.
Let the water flow beneath the bridge; let men be men, that is to say, weak, vain, inconstant, unjust, false, and presumptuous; let the world be the world still; you cannot prevent it. Let every one follow his own inclination and habits; you cannot recast them, and the best course is, to let them be as they are and bear with them. Do not think it strange when you witness unreasonableness and injustice; rest in peace in the bosom of God; He sees it all more clearly than you do, and yet permits it. Be content to do quietly and gently what it becomes you to do, and let everything else be to you as though it were not.
Sermon Outline
- The True Agent of Success points: - Perfect abandonment before God - Doing everything by God's light and being content with His success
- The Dangers of Self-Reliance points: - Eager and officious care - Talking forever and indulging in unnecessary reflections
- The Importance of Rest in God points: - Resting in peace in God's bosom - Being content with doing what is necessary
Key Quotes
“A single word, uttered from this rest, will do more, even in outward affairs, than all our most eager and officious care.” — Francois Fenelon
“We have accomplished everything, and have scarce said anything.” — Francois Fenelon
“Let the water flow beneath the bridge; let men be men, that is to say, weak, vain, inconstant, unjust, false, and presumptuous;” — Francois Fenelon
Application Points
- We should strive to do everything by the light of God and be content with His success.
- We should rest in peace in God's bosom and not be disturbed by unreasonableness and injustice.
- We should be content to do quietly and gently what is necessary and let everything else be as it is.