More Love to Thee

A few weeks ago I finished the book Elizabeth Prentiss: More Love to Thee by Sharon James. It’s an enticing biography of one woman’s rather extraordinary faith in the face of both intense suffering and of ordinary daily annoyances. I’ll post an example later. But for now, here is one excerpt from a letter quoted in the book that I found particularly interesting and encouraging, especially the last two sentences. The more I think about it the more I believe it at least ought to be true:

God never places us in any position in which we can not grow. We may fancy that He does. We may fear we are so impeded by fretting, petty cares that we are gaining nothing; but when we are not sending any branches upward, we may be sending roots downward. Perhaps in the time of our humiliation, when everything seems a failure, we are making the best kind of progress. God delights to try our faith by the conditions in which He places us. A plant set in the shade shows where its heart is by turning towards the sun, even when unable to reach it. We have so much to distract us in this world that we do not realise how truly and deeply, if not always warmly and consciously, we love Christ. But I believe that this love is the strongest principle in every regenerate soul. It may slumber for a time, it may falter, it may freeze nearly to death; but sooner or later it will declare itself as the ruling passion.

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when I struggled with making love for Christ the ruling passion. And yet I found myself feeling strangely compelled to obedience, while wanting to “kick the gate” all the same. Perhaps, after all, the strongest principle was love for Christ, which gives me some assurance of being in possession of a regenerate soul, though there were faltering moments when that would not have been so evident. Another passage from Elizabeth that speaks to this is below. I think I live a good many days in which my self-consecration is far from perfect, but she gives the remedy:

Lay down this principle as a law, - God does nothing arbitrary ... and if you have real faith in Him, you will not insist on knowing the reason. If you find in the course of everyday events, that your self-consecration was not perfect, - that is, that your will revolts at His will, - do not be discouraged, but fly to your Saviour, and stay in His presence till you obtain the spirit in which He cried in His hour of anguish, ‘Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done.’