“It is simply to follow Him:[278] to be of one mind with Him:[279] to acquiesce in His administration:[280] to accept what His bounty gives, to resign ourselves to the absence of what He withholds.[281] The only thought of a good man is, remembering who he is, and whence he came, and to Whom he owes his being, to fill the place which God has assigned to him,[282] to will things to be as they are, and to say what Socrates used to say, ‘If this be God’s will, so be it.’[283] Submission must be thy law: thou must dare to lift up your eyes to God and say, ‘Employ me henceforth for what service Thou wilt: I am of one mind with Thee: I am Thine: I ask not that Thou shouldest keep from me one thing of all that Thou hast decreed for me.’[284]
‘Lead Thou me, God, and Thou, O Fate,
Thy appointment I await:
Only lead me, I shall go
With no flagging steps nor slow:
Even though I degenerate be,
And consent reluctantly,
None the less I follow Thee.’[285]
“We can only do this when we keep our eyes fixed on Him, joined in close communion with Him, absolutely consecrated to His commandments. If we will not do it, we suffer loss. There are penalties imposed, not by a vindictive tyranny, but by a self-acting law. If we will not take what He gives under the conditions under which He gives it, we reap the fruit of wretchedness and sorrow, of jealousy and fear, of thwarted effort and unsatisfied desire.[286]
“Above all, we must bide His time. He has given to every one of us a post to keep in the battle of life, and we must not leave it until He bids us.[287] His bidding is indicated by circumstances. When He does not give us what our bodies need, when He sends us where life according to nature is impossible, He, the Supreme Captain, is sounding the bugle for retreat,[288] He, the Master of the Great Household, is opening the door and saying to us, ‘Come.’[289] And when He does so, instead of bewailing your misfortunes, obey and follow: come forth, not murmuring, but as God’s servant who has finished His work, conscious that He has no more present need of you.[290]