The cross carried by the human being consists of a large vertical part, representing the will of God, and a small lateral part, representing the will of the human being. Align your will with the will of God, and there will be no cross.
The one who seeks happiness in external prosperity is building his house on sand; lasting happiness can only come from the harmony between one’s inner life and the will of God.
— Lucy Mallory
He that is not with me is against me. He who does not gather with me scatters.
— Luke 11:23
The human condition contains a combination of good and evil, but there is no such mixture in human aspirations. The aspiration to fulfill God’s will is wholly good, the aspiration to fulfill your own will that disagrees with the will of God is wholly evil.
Most certainly I tell you, whatever you may ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.
— John 16:23
Fate crushes us in two ways: by denying us our desires and by fulfilling them. But the one who wants only what God wants avoids both catastrophes. All things work together for his good.
— Amiel
If you do not expect or want to get anything from others, then you cannot be afraid of people, just as a bee is not afraid of another bee or a horse is not afraid of another horse. But if your happiness is at the mercy of others, then you will certainly fear people.
That is where you should start: you must renounce everything that does not belong to you, renounce it until it is no longer your master; renounce your attachment to your body and all of its needs; renounce the love of wealth, glory, status, honors; in this sense, renounce your children, your wife, your brothers. You must tell yourself that none of this belongs to you.
Then you will not need to fight human violence with violence. Take, for example, a prison. How does it harm me, i.e. my soul, by its presence? Why should I try to destroy it, why should I attack and kill the people who commit violence? Their prisons, chains and weapons cannot enslave my soul. They can seize my body, but my soul is free and no one can interfere with it, and therefore I live the way I want.
And how did I attain this? I surrendered my will to the will of God: does he want me to have a fever? Then so do I. Does he want me to do this and not that? Then so do I. If he does not want it, then neither do I. Does he want me to die or be tortured? Then I also want to die or to endure torture.
— Epictetus
The soul that surrenders to God is great, whereas the soul that rebels against God, criticizes the laws that govern the world and prefers to correct God instead of itself is petty and corrupt.
— Seneca
If anyone desires to do his will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is from God, or if I am speaking from myself.
— John 7:17
Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
— Matthew 11:28–30
Not only are deliverance from misfortune and tranquility granted you by aligning your will with the will of God, it is the only way to gain knowledge of God and belief in immortality.
