“Sometimes it is good for us to have troubles and hardships, for they often call us back to our own hearts. Once there, we know ourselves to be strangers in this world.” (Thomas a Kempis)
The spiritual teacher Thomas a Kempis gives us an important reason why even those things that seem only to stand in our way can be used by our Father for our good. God always has the salvation of our soul in mind, and all of His guidance and allowances are intended to serve us. The greatest service the Lord renders us is the salvation and strengthening of our soul. This is what matters, as the Church rightly states: its most important task is the salvation of the soul.
If we examine our lives more closely, we will quickly realize that suffering, difficult circumstances, and obstacles become fruitful when we overcome them with God’s help. They draw us closer and more intimately into His heart. Precisely when a person is doing too well, he quickly loses himself in outward appearances; success always seems to prove him right. However, if one does not gratefully attribute such success to God, one easily loses one’s inner compass, and the soul becomes scattered.
This is true even when one has made progress in the spiritual life and overcome one challenge or another. Even the inner joy and security that arise from this must be handled with care and gratitude! Otherwise, subtle spiritual pride can take root, causing one to forget to attribute everything to the Lord and praise Him.
Our Father’s wise providence will see to it that all this happens to lead us back onto the path to the inner self, where He waits for us with love!