Day 12: Examine the Heart's Desires (Imitation of Christ. Bk. 3. Ch. 11-13)

Day 12: Examine the Heart's Desires (Imitation of Christ. Bk. 3. Ch. 11-13). Our hearts’ desires need to be purified. Examine your desires and align them with God’s will. Practice patience and obedience in your vocations. [I am nothing, yet God continues to choose me.]

• Your desire is often inflamed and drives you strongly.
• Not every affection that seems good should be followed right away.
• You must sometimes use violence and manfully oppose the appetites of the senses.
• True peace of heart is discovered by resisting passions rather than indulging them.

• The more you withdraw yourself from all the solace creatures provide, the more you will find in Jesus sweeter and stronger consolation. Old habits will pose an obstacle until eventually overcome by better habits. The flesh will complain repeatedly, but spiritual fervor will muzzle it. 

• One who tries to get himself out of obedience also gets himself out of grace.
• There is no more bothersome and worst enemy to your soul than you yourself when you're not in harmony with your spirit. 

• You must acquire a true contempt for yourself if you want to prevail against flesh and blood.
• Learn to dash your own wants and give yourself over to all subjection (authority).
• Do not tolerate an inflated sense of self.
• Show yourself to be so submissive and dust-like that everyone will be able to walk on you and trample you.

Ch. 11: The heart's desires are to be examined and tempered. [While we are made good, we are also broken. We forget original sin.] Not every affection that seems good should be followed right away, and not every irksome affection (feeling) is something to flee from right away. It is sometimes helpful to use restraint even in good urges and desires. You must sometimes use violence (pluck out your eye; not physical violence but to the passion and desire) and manfully oppose the appetites of the senses, paying no attention to what the flesh wants or does not want. [Choose the opposite of what you want--choose discomfort, choose the lowest place.]

Ch. 12: The formation of patience and the struggle against concupiscence--the desire to want bad things or to want good things in a bad way [lust, sensual longing, strong sexual desires]. Even though I try to arrange my life to have peace, yet it cannot exist without war (conflict) and sorrow. Choose the lesser of 2 evils. Strive to tolerate (endure) present evils calmly for God. The more you withdraw yourself from all the solace creatures provide, the more you will find in me (Jesus) sweeter and stronger consolation. Old habits will pose an obstacle until eventually overcome by better habits. The flesh will complain repeatedly, but spiritual fervor will muzzle it. 

Ch. 13: The humble subject's obedience after the example of Jesus Christ. One who tries to get himself out of obedience also gets himself out of grace. There is no more bothersome and worst enemy to your soul than you yourself when you're not in harmony with your spirit. For you must acquire a true contempt for yourself if you want to prevail against flesh and blood. Learn to dash your own wants and give yourself over to all subjection (authority). Do not tolerate an inflated sense of self living in you. Instead show yourself to be so submissive and dust-like that everyone will be able to walk on you and trample you like the cobblestones [mud in the streets] (Ps 18:42).