Whoever will refuse nothing which comes in the order of God, and seek nothing out of that order, need never fear to finish his day’s work without partaking of the cross of Jesus Christ. There is an indispensable providence for crosses as well as for the necessaries of life; they are a part of our daily bread; God will never suffer it to fail. A life of faith produces two things: First, it enables us to see God in everything; secondly, it holds the mind in a state of readiness for whatever may be His will. This continual, unceasing dependence on God, this state of entire peace and acquiescence of the soul in whatever may happen, is the true silent martyrdom of self. With the exception of sin, nothing happens in this world out of the will of God. It is He who is the author, ruler, and bestower of all; He has numbered the hairs of our head, the leaves of every tree, the sand upon the seashore, and the drops of the ocean. This is the whole of religion: to get out of self in order to get into God. To be a Christian is to be an imitator of Jesus Christ. In what can we imitate Him if not in his humiliation? Nothing else can bring us near to Him. We may adore Him as omnipotent, fear Him as just, love Him with all our heart as good and merciful, but we can only imitate Him as humble, submissive, poor, and despised. What men stand most in need of is the knowledge of God. It is not astonishing that men do so little for God, and that the little which they do costs them so much. They do not know Him; scarcely do they believe that He exists. If He were known He would be loved. Thou causest me clearly to understand that Thou makest use of the evils and imperfections of the creature to do the good which Thou hast determined beforehand. Thou concealest Thyself under the importunate visitor who intrudes upon the occupation of Thy impatient child, that he may learn not to be impatient, and that he may die to the gratification of being free to study or work as he pleases. Thou availest Thyself of slanderous tongues to destroy the reputation of Thine innocent children, that, besides their innocence, they may offer Thee the sacrifice of their too highly cherished reputation. By the cunning artifices of the envious Thou layest low the fortunes of those whose hearts were too much set upon their prosperity. Thus Thou mercifully strewest bitterness over everything that is not Thyself, to the end that our hearts, formed to love Thee and to exist upon Thy love, may be, as it were, constrained to return to Thee by a want of satisfaction in everything else. “O ’tis enough whate’er befall, To know that God is all in all. ’Tis this which makes my treasure, ’Tis this which brings my gain; Converting woe to pleasure, And reaping joy from pain.” _Madame Guyon._