Imitation 3 3031 verses
1“My Son, I am ‘a stronghold in the day of trouble.’ Come unto Me, when it is not well with thee.
2“This it is which chiefly hindereth heavenly consolation, that thou too slowly betakest thyself unto prayer.
3For before thou earnestly seekest unto Me, thou dost first seek after many means of comfort, and refresheth thyself in outward things: so it cometh to pass that all things profit thee but little until thou learn that it is I who deliver those who trust in Me; neither beside Me is there any strong help, nor profitable counsel, nor enduring remedy.
4But now, recovering courage after the tempest, grow thou strong in the light of My mercies, for I am nigh, saith , that I may restore all things not only as they were at the first, but also abundantly and one upon another.
5“For is anything too hard for Me, or shall I be like unto one who saith and doeth not?
6Where is thy faith?
7Stand fast and with perseverance.
8Be long-suffering and strong.
9Consolation will come unto thee in its due season.
10Wait for Me; yea, wait; I will come and heal thee.
11It is temptation which vexeth thee, and a vain fear which terrifieth thee.
12What doth care about future events bring thee, save sorrow upon sorrow?
13‘Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.’ It is vain and useless to be disturbed or lifted up about future things which perhaps will never come.
14“But it is the nature of man to be deceived by fancies of this sort, and it is a sign of a mind which is still weak to be so easily drawn away at the suggestion of the enemy.
15For he careth not whether he deceive and beguile by true means or false; whether he throw thee down by the love of the present or fear of the future.
16Therefore let not thy heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
17Believe in Me, and put thy trust in My mercy.
18When thou thinkest thyself far removed from Me, I am often the nearer.
19When thou reckonest that almost all is lost, then often is greater opportunity of gain at hand.
20All is not lost when something goeth contrary to thy wishes.
21Thou oughtest not to judge according to present feeling, nor so to take or give way to any grief which befalleth thee, as if all hope of escape were taken away.
22“Think not thyself totally abandoned, although for the time I have sent to thee some tribulation, or have even withdrawn some cherished consolation; for this is the way to the Kingdom of Heaven.
23And without doubt it is better for thee and for all My other servants, that ye should be proved by adversities, than that ye should have all things as ye would.
24I know thy hidden thoughts: and that it is very needful for thy soul’s health that sometimes thou be left without relish, lest perchance thou be lifted up by prosperity, and desirous to please thyself in that which thou art not.
25What I have given I am able to take away, and to restore again at My good pleasure.
26“When I shall have given, it is Mine; when I shall have taken away, I have not taken what is thine; for ‘every good gift and every perfect gift’ is from Me.
27If I shall have sent upon thee grief or any vexation, be not angry, nor let thy heart be sad; I am able quickly to lift thee up and to change every burden into joy.
28But I am just and greatly to be praised, when I do thus unto thee.
29“If thou rightly consider, and look upon it with truth, thou oughtest never to be so sadly cast down because of adversity, but rather shouldst rejoice and give thanks; yea, verily to count it the highest joy that I afflict thee with sorrows and spare thee not.
30‘As My Father hath loved Me, so love I you;’ thus have I spoken unto My beloved disciples: whom I sent forth not unto worldly joys, but to great strivings; not unto honours, but unto contempt; not unto ease, but to labours; not unto rest, but to bring forth much fruit with patience.
31My son, remember these words.”
