The root of all virtue and grace, of all faith and acceptable worship, is that we know that we have nothing but what we receive, and bow in deepest humility to wait upon God for it.
Interpretation
The essence of virtue and worship lies in recognizing our dependency on a higher power.
This quote emphasizes the importance of humility in our relationship with the divine. It suggests that true virtue, grace, and faith stem from an acknowledgment that everything we possess is a gift received from God, and that in this recognition, we find the foundation for our worship and spiritual life. It calls for a posture of humility and a readiness to receive as we await God's provisions.
In practice
This quote is perfect for a spiritual retreat to encourage participants to reflect on their reliance on divine grace.
God has a plan for His Church upon earth. But alas! we too often make our plan, and we think that we know what ought to be done. We ask God first to bless our feeble efforts, instead of absolutely refusing to go unless God go before us.
Pride must die in you, or nothing of heaven can live in you.
The only humility that is really ours is not that which we try to show before God in prayer, but that which we carry with us, and carry out, in our ordinary conduct; the insignficances of daily life are the importances and the tests of eternity, because they prove what really is the spirit that possesses us.
Each time, before you intercede, be quiet first, and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, and how He delights to hear the prayers of His redeemed people. Think of your place and privilege in Christ, and expect great things!
Humility is the displacement of self by the enthronement of God.
Being filled with the Spirit is simply this - having my whole nature yielded to His power. When the whole soul is yielded to the Holy Spirit, God Himself will fill it.
Today there were fear, hatred, and pain, but no dignity of emotion, no deep or complex sorrows.
The worst cynicism: a belief in luck.
The Intelligentsia (scientists apart) are losing all touch with, and all influence over, nearly the whole human race. Our most esteemed poets and critics are read by our most esteemed critics and poets (who don't usually like them much) and nobody else takes any notice. An increasing number of highly literate people simply ignore what the 'Highbrows' are doing. It says nothing to them. The Highbrows in return ignore and insult them.
You can't just say there is a God because well, the world is beautiful. You have to account for bone cancer in children. You have to account for the fact that almost all animals in the wild live under stress with not enough to eat and will die violent and bloody deaths. There is not any way that you can just choose the nice bits and say that means there is a God and ignore the true fact of what nature is.
... you could claim that anything's real if the only basis for believing in it is that nobody's proved it doesn't exist!
Nothing surely is as potent as a law that may not be disobeyed. It has the force of the water drop that hollows the stone. A small dainty task, if it be really daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules.
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