A Man Should Not Be Unduly Solicitous About His Affairs
A man should not be unduly solicitous about his affairs, but rather commit them to God and await His ordering.
Thomas a Kempis preaches about committing our cause to Christ, trusting in His timing and divine ordering for our advantage. He emphasizes the importance of surrendering our anxieties about the future and offering ourselves willingly to God's good pleasure. Kempis also highlights the fleeting nature of human affections and the need to deny oneself to truly progress and find freedom and security in Christ, despite the constant temptations of the enemy.
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THE VOICE OF CHRIST
MY CHILD, always commit your cause to Me. I will dispose of it rightly in good time. Await My ordering of it and it will be to your advantage.
THE DISCIPLE
Lord, I willingly commit all things to You, for my anxiety can profit me little. But I would that I were not so concerned about the future, and instead offered myself without hesitation to Your good pleasure.
THE VOICE OF CHRIST
My child, it often happens that a man seeks ardently after something he desires and then when he has attained it he begins to think that it is not at all desirable; for affections do not remain fixed on the same thing, but rather flit from one to another. It is no very small matter, therefore, for a man to forsake himself even in things that are very small.
A man's true progress consists in denying himself, and the man who has denied himself is truly free and secure. The old enemy, however, setting himself against all good, never ceases to tempt them, but day and night plots dangerous snares to cast the unwary into the net of deceit. "Watch ye and pray," says the Lord, "that ye enter not into temptation."[37]
Sermon Outline
- Commit Your Cause to God
- The Dangers of Anxiety
- True Progress
- The Enemy's Temptation
- Deny yourself
- Be free and secure
- Watch and pray
- Avoid the net of deceit
Key Quotes
“A man's true progress consists in denying himself, and the man who has denied himself is truly free and secure.” — Thomas a Kempis
“Watch ye and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.” — Thomas a Kempis
Application Points
- Commit your cause to God and await His ordering of it.
- Deny yourself and focus on God's good pleasure.
- Watch and pray to avoid the enemy's temptation.